


An Open Mind

by KelaAshes



Category: Biker Mice From Mars
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 17:16:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 50,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3419009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KelaAshes/pseuds/KelaAshes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because two cultures don't mesh doesn't mean they have to clash, and Charley is about to get a first hand lesson in how Martian women prefer their men. On a trip back to Earth from Mars Charley awkwardly and frustratingly falls in love, Martian style. Takes place during 'Return to Mars'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discovery

Summery: Just because two cultures don't mesh doesn't mean they have to clash, and Charley is about to get a first hand lesson in how Martian women prefer their men. On a trip back to Earth from Mars Charley awkwardly and frustratingly falls in love, Martian style. Takes place during 'Return to Mars'.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, no profit is intended from this piece of fiction. 

Authors note: I would first of all like to thank The Third Biker Scholar, whose fic The First single-handedly brought me into the Biker Mice fandom. I had seen it on so many favorites lists over the years from people in other fandoms, that last summer I finally broke down went to see what all the fuss was about. Overnight I became an almost rabid fan. Although, I have to say that having never see more than one or two episodes as a kid, my twenty-nine year old self was hugely disappointed with the availability of episodes, and I've found myself scourging the interwebs every few weeks in a sad and desperate attempt to get any info on whatever is happening with this show in 2016. It has been hell. 

Having no reference for what Martian languages sound like, I have settled on something that is phonetically identical to the Black Tongue of Mordor spoken with a Mandarin accent.

I realize I spell 'Plutarkian' differently than everyone else (i.e. Plutarchian), but for my purposes I find this to be a much cleaner spelling. 'Plutarkian' reminds me of all those ninety-year-old translations of the Odyssey that used an archaic and awkward method of translating the names and places of everything into Latin letters. It had way to many 'k's and it was ugly to look at.

Story is unbeta'd, but not for lack of trying. Apparently betas in the Biker Mice fandom are either rare or inactive. If there is anyone willing to take up the mantle for future chapters, send me a PM.

This will be the first part of a four chapter fic. This story is somewhat AU, although in my demented headcannon, all this has been taking place after the episode Return to Mars. It may or may not be my own little attempt at fan-service. Originally I was writing a PWP for my own amusment that I had not intention of posting anywhere. But then actual plot reared its disfigured head and forced me down the rabbit hole. The ending for Return to Mars has been blatantly and drastically altered, however. Story is rated M for sexual content. Not perpendicularly graphic, but it is there. You have been warned. 

 

\--- 

 

She had seen how Martians treated their women. And at the end of it Charley wasn't sure if she should feel honored for their inclusion of her in their way of life, or insulted for how they had completely encapsulated her in their idea of 'appropriate' before even giving her a chance to say no.

Not there was anything degrading about the position Martian custom would place her. It was simply that the journey from a comfortably average, business owning, independent, western woman to playing a traditional female role in a Martian style relationship was a road on which there were more bumps than smooth paved road. 

The guys explained to her the complexity of Martian ways, as it was a world being home to more than one sentient species. Each of these with their own languages, religions, social orders, assumptions about how people should treat each other. Those assumptions had taken very different paths for all the different natives. In part, this was an affect of their biology. Martian life had taken a singular evolutionary path, common to all the Rats, Sand Raiders, and Cave Mice. Protruding growths from the pineal gland intersected with frontal cortex, giving way to heightened mental skills that were a part of life to all Martians. They were sympathetic to a fault, speaking a phrase and feeling its effects on all those who hear it and formed an opinion about it. The inhabitants of Mars had developed social habits that avoided the most unpleasant aspects of life. However only the Mice were truly telepathic, as in them these growths were much larger, extending out of the skull entirely. 

When Charley met her boys on that first night, seeing their antenna glow that bright red-purple color had frighted her. She remembered that spike of fear, felt high her stomach, griping her chest. A moment later she felt a different kind of fear, after seeing what the Plutarchians had done to Mars and would do to Earth if given half a chance. There were many long nights afterwards when the guys would come over after she closed up the shop. Charley would make them dinner and they would talk about Mice and Human life. Everything from music and culture to the basics of biology. She was most surprised to how few differences there were. People were essentially the same no matter where you went, they would tell her. We want the same things. We all just had different ways of going about it. 

As their travel experience had far outweighed hers, and their words were just so reasonable, she had nothing to say to that. It had touched her inner utopianist. 

She later came to learn that even the Human pineal gland glows when in use, usually when the person is dreaming, as the pineal gland is also the source of melatonin and the regulations of sleep cycles. That led to a series of questions about the links between dreaming and psychic abilities. None of which they guys could answer.

“You'd have to ask someone a lot smarter then this pack of grunts.” Modo smiled good-naturally. The way he said it seemed to imply that the topic wasn't unheard of on Mars. But Charley took him at his word and let it go. 

The cliché that women in general were far more emotional than their male counterparts was common to Mars as well as Earth. However, because of their telepathic nature, all that emotion could be felt, in the right circumstances. The guys told her that female energy was a frighteningly powerful thing. That was in part why whenever she lost her temper with them, they generally did their best to make amends as quickly as possible. Typically in form of the cleaning or fixing up whatever it was that they damaged that time. Their rambunctious nature was a thing she had learned to accept a long time ago. She had once taken out a couple packs good old Zombie Dust, her father's favorite beer when he'd been living (the irony of this was not lost on her) and after everyone had been rendered pleasantly tipsy they told her the history of their world. They said to her that if a man was lucky enough to have a woman in life in any context he had a responsibility to her. Women were the origin of life. The first creation of the Goddess, and when they were threatened it was more than just a mere duty to “rescue the girl”, as they put it. It was instinct. It was survival.

Life on Mars was hard. Along with the complete destruction of the ecosystem, the population was targeted in an intentionally strategic manor. Plutarchians always went after women. It had become a preferred strategy amongst the fish since long before the Mice's freedom fighter movement. The Plutarchians were skilled in the arts of conquest, having done so many times before they had gotten to Mars. They knew there would be an up-rise eventually, as there always is during such endeavors. They had taken steps to ensure that there would be less of an enemy to fight when that time came, even the early days of their first trade agreements with Mars. The right person paid here, an important official encouraged to look the other way there. It was so easy to add the “nutritional supplements” to the water supply, and it was nearly a decade before anyone realized the long term effects of infertility in the women. The only difference now was that the population control was more overt and violent rather than secret and chemical. 

Even before the wars the cold deserts were a place difficult to survive in. Sand Raiders routinely dealt in slave trade and trafficking of people. A practice that began thousands of years ago and initially was restricted to the enslavement of the lowest caste members of society. It quickly expanded outward as Mars had more and more contact with races from outside their world. There was always someone somewhere willing to buy. They were a nomadic people, these Raiders. Always moving, always looking for someone to take and make a profit of. 

But it was more than just their economic habits that led Cave Mice to have such distrust of Sand Raiders. Their psychic presence was deeply upsetting. The Mice were a race that could feel every part of each other so easily. And when they came into interaction with the Sand Raiders, people who take and use others without hesitation, nothing compared the culture clash between the two groups. Physicians among the Mice knew that the Sand Raiders had empathic abilities. What was not known was how they endured feeling the emotions of those they enslaved. When Charley had inquired if any Mice had ever asked the Sand Raiders, she was met with frustrated faces and clenched fists. Of course they had tried, they said. It made no sense to them, so there had to be a reason. Over the years, during a less violent time, anthropologists and adventurists alike would brave the deep desert seeking answers to these ancient questions. Most of them never returned. 

The Rats were equally feared and were placed in a similar category as the Raiders. Throughout the centuries some of their hunters were often contracted by Sand Raiders to assist in capturing new “inventory”. They were cowardly mercenaries with no concept of decency.

Mice were not violent by nature. But they knew how to stay alive, and by necessity they learned fast. As Charley would come to learn, the social structure of the family unit was based on the cultivation of two things: passive civility and survival of the clan. Anyone invited to a Mouse's home would see this in action. She certainly had. 

Charley was taken to Mars by Limberger during Brie's unsuccessful attempt playing General Carbine against the Biker Mice. After that horrifying fiasco had been resolved, she stayed with Modo's mother for a few days until they could get a ride back to Earth. She spoke with the aged mouse lady for many hours about everything she had seen. The old woman helped Charley understand much of what had happened to her. Including that wretched bikini thing that the one-legged shaggy Sand Raider demanded she wear. At first Charley had thought that he had simply not cared that the thirty-eight degree weather, warm for a Martian day, would have made such attire more than a little uncomfortable on her fur-less skin. 

“Oh, he would have known. And given you nothing else to keep warm. If you ran you would died from exposure. And if you stayed...well then...likely he was betting that you would seek him out for warmth.” 

If it wasn't enough that her gentle voice was less reassuring that it should have been, her explanation it didn't make sense to the dark haired earth women.

“So...if he already thought he owned me,” Charley started. “then why didn't he just take what he wanted?”

“That doesn't happen very often on our little red world. Sand Raiders, as barbaric as they are, have the same gods we do. He would have feared angering the Great Goddess. It motivates them to be far more gentle with the women they capture.” She took a sip of her gianji root tea, then added as an afterthought. “Except with Rats. They are not much interested in the Goddess. They don't seem to fear much, aside from being eaten by a saber squid.” There was so much pity in her eyes when she said this. Charley couldn't help but wonder if all the bad blood between Mice and Rats wasn't at least based in part on religious reasons. In the back of her mind she wondered what sort of treatment was standard for the men that had been taken prisoner, if what she experienced was their idea of respectful. She asked the older woman what sort of gods Rats had.

“Demons.” She whispered gravely. “Monsters that care nothing for lives of us mortals. Many believe the Plutarchians are here because of the Rats' gods. They watch us suffer and they laugh.”

Charley did her best to accept this woman's foreign superstitions without judgment. 

The kind old women was much the same as any other matriarch Charley had known. She was eager to take out the dusty old photo albums from the top shelf and show Charley what her family had once looked liked. And Charley was not surprised to see that this little old lady was once a knockout. She saw Modo and his midnight-furred sister smiling and playing as children, Throttle and Vinnie as teenagers, so many other friends and family she did not have names for. But over and over again she kept seeing Modo's mother with the same two men. She called them her boys, and gave Charley not much other explanation. The first was a black-hued beauty with deep soul searching eyes and a stunning smile. In most of the photographs he was holding her from behind and gazing at her like she was the most important thing in the world to him. Charley's first thought was that he was her husband. Or maybe lover? In truth she didn't exactly know what the customs around here for that sort of thing were. 

She rethought her assumption when she took notice of the other, because he was a familiar looking gray and tall burly mouse. She pointed to him and asked, “Is this Modo's father?”

The kind old women patted Charley hand and gave her a patient smile. 

“Best not to talk about such things. They were my boys. This was our clan. That's all that matters.”

As she closed the cracked old book, She looked up at the confused earth woman. “My family was always very traditional. Mars was much more civilized back then. These last few decades...they've set us back centuries. But back then it wasn't about survival. I loved them and they loved me.” The look she was giving Charley now was solemn, unyieldingly so. “You'll never have to worry about my son. He was raised with very strong family values. He'll never let you down.”

She knew there were more implications in what the old woman had told her than Charley was willing address. So many expectations. So many things that this woman thought should just be known without being said. Again, Charley tried to be polite, when she truly did not know how to respond.

The day before they went back to Earth Vinnie finally made a move. He waited until they were alone, which wasn't easy, given how many people were happy to see them alive after being gone so long from Mars. She knew Limburger had threatened her, riling up Vinnie until he nearly cracked the cell open. Or died in the attempt. She suspected he couldn't take any more after that. She was his girl and that was that. So the moment they had a little time by themselves he pushed her up against a cave wall and kissed her until both of them were out of breath. His sizable frantic tongue did not quite fit her small Human mouth. If he noticed, he said nothing. Charley, for her part, choose to ignore it, preferring to submissively wrap her arms around his shoulders and consent to whatever he wanted of her. Running his hands over her thighs and bottom, the Mouse looked like he had no self control left. 

Vinnie took her to what looked like unused army barracks. She would have ask if that's what they were, only Vinnie never gave her a chance. He made love to her. Long and hard, and Charley, who hadn't quite come down from the unwelcome rush of being abducted and taken to an actual alien planet, had eagerly accepted any comfort he was willing to give. He wasn't like anything she expected. For all his bravado, all his self aggrandizement, it wasn't the wild uncontrollable coupling Charley had assumed it would be. When they were together on that aging uncomfortable mattress he touched her like she was something sacred. His hands trembled when he reached out to her. He mumbled foreign words that sounded more like a prayer than a lover's pillow talk. Afterwards she strongly suspected they were.

It was all so out of character for him. Where was her ego-maniac mouse? Who kidnapped him and replaced him with this respectful little boy?

“You are my Goddess!” he gasped in her ear between thrusts.

Her heart couldn't keep up with how he was acting, whatever this was. She squeezed her eyes shut, tightening her thin fingers around his muscular shoulders and surrendered to the sensations he was causing. Letting her mind go blank, Charley ignored Vinnie's behavior. She tried not to think about the possible sacrilege of Vinnie's words, or if there was any kind of repercussions for that around here. That was all better left to a more calming day, when she could go over what was happening with less distractions. 

In the hours before they left for Earth, Carbine pulled her aside to speak with her privately.

“We're not together anymore.” She said. Carbine gestured with her hands sharply, while her voice broke. “I know what it looked like with us, after that ice comet. But this? It's just not sustainable. It's one thing to leave for months on end. And I'm okay with that. Especially given who and what we're fighting. It's just...I'm in kind of a unique situation.” Her eyes were pleading with Charley now, begging her to understand. “Protection isn't an issue. I'm surrounded by soldiers. Some of which probably see me as an incarnation of the Goddess.” She said it disdainfully, as if her men viewing her as a religious icon was a tired cliché she was sick of dealing with. “I never meant to leave him behind like this. But my people need a leader and there are so few women these days. I can't spend my life waiting for one person when so many others need me to be more to them. And anyway...the other two...we just never connected in the way we needed to. I don't know why. Maybe it's my fault. They are a part of each other. Their bond goes too deep in the most traditional way. The one to one kind of deal, it just wouldn't be very...acceptable. Not these days. It would be too selfish of me.”

Charley had no idea what she was talking about. 

“Just...let him know that I really did care about him. And Charley...” Again were those beseeching eyes. “make him happy. I couldn't because I tried to split myself up into too many responsibilities. And I ended up not being enough to anyone. He's a good man. He doesn't deserve that.”

“Carbine,” Charley held a an hand, stopping her. “It's not like that with him and me. I'm with Vinnie.”

For the barest moment Carbine looked confused. The general looked away, having answered her own question it would seem.

“Yeah...Vinnie. Just...let him know, okay?”

Mostly on reflex, Charley nodded. Just where these Martians trying to tell her? Between Carbine, Vinnie and Modo's mother, Charley found she would be leaving Mars with less understanding of Martian culture than when she came.

The three day trip back to Earth was a bizarre experience. Throttle was uncharacteristically moody, Modo wouldn't stop nervously fidgeting, and Vinnie would hardly look at her. Even when he did there was so much guilt written on his face that she couldn't take it. He avoided her as much as possible on the small hyper ship, refusing completely to be alone with her. Poor little Rimfire, sent along to pilot the planet-hopper back home as they could not spare the extra ship, looked about ready to drowned in all of the tension. He made it a point to keep silent most throughout most of flight for fear of lighting a fire they weren't prepared to deal with. 

On the second day Charley decided she was sick to death of whatever this was, and she managed to corner Vinnie in one of the bunk rooms in the back. Standing so close to him, she got a good look at the purple stained skin shining through the snowy fur around his left eye. 

“What happened to your face?” She reached to touch him and he ducked away from her hand. “Just what is going on here? What is everyone acting so weird? Why won't you talk to me?”

“Uh...Charley-girl, we really shouldn't...” He was bouncing from one leg to the other. His eyes were anywhere but Charley. She thought he looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Look, I'm not the one you need to talk to right now.”

His statement created more questions than answers. Charley clenched her jaw and seethed in frustration.

“What the hell does that mean?” He flinched when she took a step toward him. “Vinnie, we didn't do anything wrong.”

He did look at her then. A boyish smile spread across his face, and her heart melted. He would always have this effect on her, she thought.

“Maybe not. But that's not the way it's supposed to happen.” His words were rushed. “I kind of jumped the gun and made a decision on my own. I mean, they don't mind really. It's you, Charley-girl, and we know you. It wouldn't work with anyone else. We already decided that. But it would have been better if we decided together when it would start. We hadn't gotten that far yet. It all just...this thing with Throttle and Carbine...he really just needed a little more time. He's kind of pissed at me for that.”

For a moment Charley just blankly stared at him.

“I swear,” She spoke low and slow. “When you Mice open your mouths it's like you're speaking another language.”

“Yeah, I know.” He scoffed. “We don't make it easy. It's a wonder you've stayed with us this long.” He reached out and touched her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “You and me? It'll work, right? We can make it work. I love you so much Charley-girl.” His arm dropped numbly back to his side. “But right now you need to talk to Modo.”

“Modo? What does he have to do with anything?”

Vinnie put his hands on the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling. She could see he was trying so hard to explain when the words just wouldn't come out. Whatever was happening here she knew at least was some odd combination between a Martian thing and a guy thing. The latter she could deal with. She had long ago come the conclusion that men where men no matter where they came from. It was the former that made her think she should tread very softly in whatever her best friends expected of her. Sometimes, she was finding, Martians had entirely different assumptions about life than her own little blue world. 

Vinnie's shoulders slumped and his gaze dropped down to the floor, then back at her. 

“He's scared, you know? Because being rejected sucks and he doesn't want that to happen, so he's taking his sweet time and beating around the bush when he just needs to talk to you.” The intensity with which he said this startled her. 

“What do you mean 'rejected'? Vinnie, you're not making any...”

“It's not really Earth style, what we do.” he interrupted. “I mean, at least not from what we know about Earth. Please Charley,” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Just try to keep an open mind. We would do anything to make you happy.”

He scurried out of there rather quickly after that. As soon as she was alone, Charley slowly sat down on one the bunks. 

'We'? What did he mean by 'we'?

Her time on Mars had left her confused and irritated, primarily because of the way people spoke to her. She had no idea what to make of it. The guys never so vague or unresponsive on earth. They were men, sure. Often failing to notice details or consequences, but they did not deliberately ignore her. They never ran way or refused to talk to her. She had not had a single conversation with Throttle or Modo since Limburger escaped back to Earth. And Vinnie...he flinched. Vincent Van Wham never flinched. So what changed? Or, all Martians just so incomprehensible to offworlders? No, that wasn't very likely. It was more reasonable to assume that their own ideas of the ways people and society should act were simply too new, too distant from anything she had yet encountered. After all, how many Humans have traveled to other planets before? Vinnie probably made it clear to others that she and him were going to be together now. Was this all the result of her being accepted into Martian society? The issue was that she didn't grow up there. There must be ideas in play here that were all new to her and she didn't know how to recognize the subtleties. Charley tried to calm her mind and organize her thoughts. 

She saw so much that showed Martian society was deeply ingrained with an ancient custom of gender segregation. Men had their place, as did women. They did not embrace the same assumed egalitarianism that she had grown up with. It irritated her a little, but she had tried to let go. She knew she was, in part at least, projecting her own cultural belief system on very foreign people from a very foreign place. After all, earth had done similar things throughout its history. As long as the value of both women and men was equal, it wouldn't harm anyone if they were allowed to occupy different spaces in society. And it never seemed to her that the Cave Mice thought anyone was less than anyone else. But there was definitely something distinctive in the way both Carbine and Modo's mother had spoken to her. In both cases, the ease with which talked of her and Throttle, or her and Modo, she honestly believed that they had each made a simple mistake. The most innocent variety of mistakes that are made all the time all over the galaxy. Two people, perhaps two good friends, that others saw and thought what lovely couple they would make. Two people that produced an acceptable aesthetic to society in general, and everyone who looked at them would then just assume. 

But that wasn't what she had with Throttle, or Modo. They were like bothers to her, in best possible way. Those two Martian women could not know what they were talking about. They hadn't spent the last three years with her boys.

Although...they had known them for years before. For a lifetime before. They were women that her boys had known almost their whole lives. It stood to reason that there were details they knew that she did not. 

Modo feared she would reject him. Reject him from what? She was Vinnie's girl. There was nothing to be rejected from. 

“It's not really Earth style, what we do.” That was what he said. But if that was the case...

An explanation was slowly forming in the back of her mind. Yet, as far as she could see there was no possible way Vinnie could have meant what she was thinking he meant.

He couldn't...no, that would be...

And suddenly Charley realized the only thing that could make sense.

Do they expect me to be dating all of them?!

She thought back to the old photographs Modo's mother showed her. Her traditional family. Her boys. The same phrase Charley often used with the guys. Was that just a coincidence? The way Modo's mother spoke to Charley about her son never letting her down. And Carbine. Her confusion when she denied her affection for Throttle.

Oh my God.

Or, maybe in this case Goddess. So much was beginning to make sense her now. The Martians worshiped a goddess. A powerful deity who was the mother of all life. Their general was a woman. Everyone knew the endless respect Modo had for his mother. And Carbine had even said there were so few women left. It had always been a struggle to get the guys to let her fight with them. Over and over again they said she needed to stay somewhere safe. Either back at the garage or the score board. Anywhere that kept her out of battle. She had always thought it was typical male chauvinism, but now she was beginning to understand there was so much more to it. 

Mice must be a matriarchal culture. An extremely matriarchal culture by the looks of it. Where female power is revered and respected. They were also a people whose women were systematically being killed off, destroying the very backbone of society. Of course they would revert to an older way, as Modo's mother had implied. Even on Earth people became more religious in times of hardship. She knew she would likely do the same if she saw her world torn apart they way they had. For the Mice, it would seem, that translated in each women having more than one man in her life. 

How would Earth handle it, she wondered if suddenly the female population made up less a quarter? Would they argue and fight each other? Would women become an even greater source of contention then the clichés made them out to be now? Could they ever learn to gracefully share, as the Mice seemed to be doing? In any case, those kind of philosophical thoughts were completely useless to her right now.

This is what she knew for certain. Vinnie was in love with her. Modo maybe was, but he at least liked her enough to want to be with her, or else he wouldn't be as scared as Vinnie had said. And she had no idea how Throttle felt. 

She took a deep breath. This was so weird. But Vinnie was right. She needed to keep an open mind. The guys had been living on Earth with her for a couple of years now, and they had always done everything thing they could to acclimate to a very alien culture. As uncomfortable as this made her, as strange as it was for her, she owed it to her boys to give them the benefit of the doubt. They had risked their lives to keep Earth safe for so long. 

Vinnie said she needed to talk to Modo. She could guess that he was so nervous because he assumed that she would do the Human thing and be scared of something different than what she and her people had always done. Well he wasn't wrong. Every instinct she had said that this was a bad idea. This wasn't what a healthy relationship was supposed to be. This kind of freaky polyamorous setup was reserved for emotionally stunted people that didn't know how to be satisfied with the normal way of doing things. 

She realized she was being judgmental. Just because it wasn't her people's way didn't make it wrong. Charley thought back to how happy Modo's mother looked while they flipped though the old album. 

Her house must have been so filled with love. 

That black mouse and his deep, wise eyes filled her heart. Charley tried to imagine what it must be like to live somewhere where there was always danger, either from slavers, religious factions, or invading aliens. How unsafe, how painful it must to raise a family. But as the old saying went, there was safety in numbers. This was the way they found safety. This was the way they had survived. Now, more than ever, this family structure would keep the Mice going. They were nearly facing extinction. She could understand how having more than one husband or lover kept the gene pool sufficiently diverse. If a man were kill or captured, his family wouldn't be nearly as at risk, because there would always been another to care for them. 

She covered her face with her hands. Could she be okay with this? And if she wasn't, what would that do to her friendship with guys? Thinking back, she now understood Carbine's words so much more clearly. There were no one to one deals. That was what she said. To be with one of them and not the other two wasn't the proper way of doing things. It wasn't acceptable these days, Charley remembered. But where did that leave her? She had already slept with Vinnie, so she could only surmise that because she had done that, her relationship with Modo and Throttle would be forever changed too. No wonder Modo was so freaked out. She couldn't possibly see how this would work. Modo was a street-smart guy. He knew how to read people. He knew she would be scared and conflicted. She half considered spending the rest of her life nervously avoiding him. 

Keep an open mind.

Could she be with Vinnie and not the other two? From what she understood about Cave Mice, the answer was most likely no. When they spoke in English they called each other 'bros'. She had long thought it was probably a loose translation of whatever the Martian concept was. Something to do with their telepathy? She had no idea. 

Maybe she should just see what Modo had to say. The truth of the matter was that whatever came out of that conversation would be what made her decision on whether she should just run the other direction as hard and fast as she could, or at least try to salvage something good from this mess. They were her best friends, nothing less than family. But did that mean she had to participate in their customs? 

They've always participated in yours, Charley-girl.

That was a truth she could never deny. They would mostly at least try earth food, no matter horrifying they found it. She could recall the first time they tried applesauce, placing it just below all-things-dairy-based on their list of items that should never be eaten ever. But they were willing to make the attempt, even though no matter what she cooked for them they would always gravitate towards some combination of meat, carbohydrates and sugar. Be it hot dogs and root beer, or turkey with mole sauce and a huge helping of baked yams. She smiled at the memory. They really did love Thanksgiving.

But did they all love her? The way Vinnie spoke...he acted like they did. Like it wasn't exactly a struggle for them to be with her, excepting that Throttle had just broken up with Carbine. 

If, and that was a big if, she did do...whatever it was they wanted her to do, did that mean she would be in any kind of rebound situation with Throttle? Did that mean she was in a rebound thing with all them? She didn't like where this was going. Was she actually considering going along with this? And if that answer was yes, was being the rebound girl really a legitimate fear here? Honestly, she knew that she just didn't know enough about Cave Mice to have a good answer to that. Whatever happened, Charley knew Carbine was right about one thing. Throttle was a good man. They all were. They all cared about her. They had risked their lives for her so many times over. Maybe she did owe them some part of her heart, at least enough to do as Vinnie asked and just keep an open mind.

She would either become a part of this...thing that Martians do. Or she wouldn't. And if that was the case then there would in all likelihood always be tension between the four them. What would it do to what Vinnie's friendship with Modo and Throttle? Would there always be some kind of weird guy jealously problems because she had been him and not the other two? 

A surge of anger griped her chest and Charley realized Vinnie was to blame for all this. How could he invite her into his life like this without telling her what it would mean? 

Oh. 

That was why he looked so guilty. But it still didn't explain why he was avoiding he afterwards. These Cave Mice, she thought, are giving me a headache. And more than a little heartache.

She did her best to gather her courage and go to speak the person she wanted to see the least right now. 

Modo was in the kitchen, preparing some kind red meat and grain dish. The foreign spices he used smelled a bit like tamarind, black licorice and something unfamiliar. His ears twitched backwards. Even with his back to her, he knew she was there. 

“Hey Charley-ma'am. You hungry?” he asked softly, over his shoulder. His ears then laid flat against his head. She had never seen him look so much like a little boy. It was such an odd display on someone so large. She saw in that moment he was probably more scared than she was. 

He always was such a sweetie. How could she break his heart like that? If Modo had approached her first back on Mars the way Vinnie had, would she have said no? She didn't think so. Granted she was just a little bit vulnerable at the time. But the truth was she loved these guys. If it had been Throttle first, she didn't think she would have said no either. Her heart was open to all of them. A small, barely-there voice in the back of her mind had been nagging her for the last few years that she would accept whichever one of the guys that made a first move, and then love the other two as brothers for the rest of her life. She never thought that would be all of them at the same time. They were her boys. Maybe in their minds it had always been leading up to this. Or maybe they were just as freaked out as she was about having a person from such a different culture as their lover. From the looks of it, Modo seemed to be. 

She sent him a smile, as gentle as she could manage. Her heart warmed when she saw the hope light up in his eyes. 

“Sure.” It was just barely above whisper. More than loud enough for a Mouse to hear. “What are you making?”

“Uh...” He turned back the the meat he was carving. “It's called a jiinash. The animal I mean.” he stuttered. “The whole thing is called nashnis. We usually eat it in the summer, when there are less saber squid around.” Silently, he took another plate down from the shelf and served her a healthy heaping of meat, along with more of the grain then she thought she could eat. Picking up what he had dished for himself, he carried both plates over to the small dinning alcove. He dominated the little built-in table and bench. She could hardly believe Martians built this ship, given how large they tended be. 

Charley sat down on the opposing bench and saw there was no utensils. She hadn't seen any during this whole trip. Well then, she could eat with her hands, if that was their way. Besides, given what she was fairly certain she was about to do it wouldn't be that difficult, comparatively.

They ate in silence for about ten minutes, before Modo decided he needed to address the elephant in the room. 

“Charley-ma'am,” he wouldn't look into her eyes. “I know this had got to be a little crazy for you, but if you'll just let us try we can make this w...”

“I'll tell you what I know,” she interrupted, wiping her hands on the denim-textured napkin. She stood up and leaned across the table, placing her hand on his cheek. Their eyes met. Modo looked terrified of what would happen next. He really was scared, just as Vinnie had said. She had to word this carefully. “I know that you are my boys.” She felt him clench his jaw. “I accepted you all as family a long time ago, even if I didn't have any idea what form that could take later on.” Modo just about melted at that. He let out a long breath that nether of them had been aware that he was holding. She had never seen so much relief on one person before. “Although... I have to admit to a certain amount of culture shock, but not so much that I'm willing to hurt all of you because I couldn't open-minded enough to accept your ways of doing things. You've all been so open-minded about earth. It's just that...I mean, really, I don't know what I'm doing here.”

“Oh Charley-girl,” he kissed the palm of her hand. “I swear, I'll be anything you want me to be.” 

Damn, if he wasn't endearing...

“You don't have to do that, Modo. Just be exactly what you are. That's more than enough for me.” 

He covered her hand with his own, nuzzling her palm, smiling shyly at her. He looked at her through hooded eyes, and in that moment Charley wasn't sure she could deny him anything. 

They finished their meal together, light flirting filling the spaces between the words. His tail kept swatting playfully at her lower legs. Martian footsie, she assumed. When they were done, he washed and put away the dishes, after storing the rest nishnis for the others. Then he returned to the table she still sat at, kneeling on the floor next to her. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, running his fingers through her hair. 

“Charley...” his voice was low and husky. She could tell where he was going with this. Did these Martians always work so quickly? Honestly, Charley still wasn't sure what exactly her comfort level was with all of this and she was hoping to take things slow. 

Modo sensed her hesitation and gently pulled her head to his own. She thought he was going to kiss her, but was shocked when she felt a foreign presence in her mind. The one or two times she'd had this experience before did not prepare her for the memories Modo was sending her. Every battle he'd seen her participate, every time she was captured or hurt, including when his own people took her prisoner on Mars, played like a recording for her to see through his eyes. She felt what he felt during all of it. He loved her. And it didn't matter what monsters came out of the shadows to hurt her or Earth, he would always succeed in pushing them back.

I will keep you safe, Charley-girl. Forever.

His voice in her mind melted her heart. He showed other things now, happier moments when it was just the four them, messing around, causing havoc. When they first came to Earth and she had to show them such simple things, like how to use the shower or open the garage door, not all of which was very successful.

She felt him mentally chuckle. 

In every memory there were feelings of affection, of desire. Desperation and need. All of it was colored by a vein of grief. He watch her from afar, never daring to come close. Both because of what it would mean for his bros and because he thought she would be unwilling. But still he could not detour his feelings. His heart was hers and seemed to have always been so.

How long have you loved me?

She saw through his perspective that first night when Throttle mind-walked with her, showing her what was done to their world. Whatever link the bros have with each other allowed to experience what Throttle experienced with her. She hadn't known at the time, but Throttle wasn't just showing her Mars. He was looking into her too. He needed to know if she was trustworthy. They all did. She could feel through Modo's memories that Throttle was more than satisfied with what he found. Vinnie, like a good little solder, fell in line. But Modo desired her. Vinnie was affected by his bro's feelings, but he mostly gravitated toward what she had to offer physically. To Modo she had the kind of mind, the psychic presence of what he wanted most in a lover. She was strong-willed, but loving, she was demanding, but fair. She never hesitated to tell her boys exactly what she thought when they were causing trouble, but she opened her home to them, three complete strangers, and did everything she could to give them their best chance on Earth. 

It was so easy for him to fall in love with her. He tried not to. He loved his bros, and there needed to be respect between them. Especially with Throttle's heart belonging elsewhere. Modo never wanted to be the source of any kind of discord, but his heart seemed to have a mind of its own. She saw an image of him and Throttle in a low and heated argument, while an irritated Vinnie looked on, reluctant to take a side. Slivers of frustration filtered through their connection. 

You fought with them, over me?

She realized he was kissing her now. She couldn't recall when that started. 

How could I not? You have no idea what you do to me. And anyways... He nipped at her bottom lip playfully as his tail snaked its way up the back of her shirt. You kissed me.

I did?

How did she not realize? When did she wrap her arms around his neck? When had he picked her up? When had she began to grip his hips so tightly with her thighs?

When she felt the telling hardness pressing into her bottom he pulled away, breaking the mental link. His eyes bore into her, asking the question he dare not speak out loud. Charley, fueled by lust, ragged with the intensity of his emotions, shakily nodded her head. He kissed her again. She felt his metal hand holding her upper thigh while his flesh hand pressed into her upper back. Modo ground into her hips, eliciting a breathy moan from her lips. Suddenly she felt a mattress press against her back. 

“Take off you shoes, Charley.” he whispered as he unbuttoned her pants. She kicked them off while he pulled both her pants and underwear off in one quick tug. Instantly his face was between her between her legs, sucking and lightly biting at her. His hands were on her knees, holding her legs apart for him. Running her hands over his ears (that really seemed to encourage him), she looked around the room. They were back in the same bunk-room she spoke to Vinnie in. How did they get here so fast? Could they have teleported? 

Did mind-walking make everyone so oblivious to their surroundings, or just uninitiated humans?

Well Vinnie, I hope this is open enough for you. Charley gasped loudly and arched her back as he pressed his tongue inside her. His flesh hand kneaded her bottom. She tossed her head from side to side, tugging on his furry head. She swore she could feel him smiling against her. Something with the texture of fabric entered her, and for a moment she was confused because she still feel both of his hands on her legs and hips. 

It's his tail!

How odd the sensation was! Like a wet towel wrapped around a flexible tube. The downy fur of it tickled her outer lips, while inwardly it was just a bit too itchy and distracted her from the pleasure. It's blunt tip plunged as far as it would fit. He pumped it deep inside her. The distraction was easily forgotten. Charley couldn't help but writhe and wriggle, losing all control of her movements. She squeezed his shoulders and lifted her pelvis, unable to take anymore. Modo kept flicking his tongue against that small bundle of nerves while he held her hips still. She could do nothing to escape him. Wave after wave of pleasure hit her, and Modo drank in all of it. 

He withdrew from her as she collapsed against the bed. Charley stared up at him dreamily, still a little in shock from the intensity of her unexpected lover. 

“You can't know,” Modo leaned forward, holding her face in his hands. “how badly I've wanted to do that.” He kissed her nose. “I could be satisfied, Charley-love, with just watching you like that. I don't need any more tonight.” He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “Is this okay? It's not too much too fast, is it?” 

She closed her eyes, trying to regain control of her breathing. When she opened them she must have had some kind of reluctant expression on her face, because he shifted uncomfortably and the next thing she saw were those fearfully shy eyes again. 

“No, it's okay.” She raked her fingers through the fur on his upper chest. “It's all just a little different than what I'm used to. But...I think I can be alright with this. I think this is a good thing.” She kissed him, tasting and smelling herself on his lips. He eagerly responded, encircling her with his warm arms. The muscles were tight and hard. He was barely restraining himself. 

“I want to be with you, Charley-love. Will you let me?” Again with the playful nipping of her lip. “I want to feel you so bad.”

She understood the words he didn't speak. As much love and lust as he had for her, Modo was afraid of crossing her boundaries. He would leave things as they are tonight if that's what she wanted. Or they would continue exploring this intimacy if she was willing. 

“Yes,” she whispered against his lips. “I'll let you.”

Abruptly he pulled away. He unfastened his chestplate, lifting it over his head and dropping it to the floor. His fingers roughly worked at his belt and and zipper, hesitating when he noticed Charley watching him hungrily. 

“What is it?” She asked, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm. After all that, what could his fears be now?

“It's just...” He looked away, closing his eye in frustration. “You Humans...you're so small. I...I don't want to do something that hurts.”

That actually...may have been a legitimate fear. He was right. The size difference between Humans and Mice was such that coupling among the larger Mice and smaller humans may be an issue. But at her five foot seven height, she wasn't exactly the smallest human specimen. Exhaling through her nose, she sat up. He watched her, shrinking back, just the barest amount.

“Well, we won't know until we try, will we?”

His eye widened, just slightly, at that. He let out a shaky breath.

“It's okay.” She promised. “Please Modo. I want you to.”

He looked down, then back at her. Slowly, he resumed taking off his pants as she watched. 

He was big. Not impossibly so, but definitely bigger than any human she'd known. It wasn't the length that was the issue, thought he was more than impressive. It was the width. She could see that they needed to go slow, at least at first.

Modo returned to the bed, sitting on his knees. He gathered her in his arms and gently removed her shirt. He situated them so she was straddling his waist. His hardness was between them. Modo touched his forehead to hers. Not to mind-walk, as she at first thought, but just a simple act of intimacy.

They sat like that, with her arms around his neck, for a moment before Charley realized he wasn't going to do anything.

Oh, I get it.

“So the ball's in my court, huh?”

“What?”

She smiled. It wasn't exactly the best time to go about explaining Human idioms. 

“Never mind.”

She used his shoulders to pull herself up and over his member. Reaching between them, she grasped it, deliberately rubbing the tip against her entrance. He inhaled sharply. She sunk down on him experimentally, getting barely an inch before rising back up. He was gasping, eye squeezing shut. She could feel the rock-hard tension in his shoulders, while his arms began to hold her just a little too tightly.

“Modo?” 

Desperation colored his features, as his single eye darted over her face.

“Modo, I know this is hard. But I really need you stay in control, okay?”

He gave a jerky nod. She started to sink down again as he moved his hands to her hips, lightly resting them there with no grip in his fingers.

She remembered Vinnie doing something like this. As soon as he was inside her, he almost completely stopped touching her. Nothing more than light kisses to her head and nuzzles to her neck. What was this vulnerability in how they treated her? 

Briefly, she wondered if Modo would start avoiding her afterwards the way Vinnie had. 

She was torn away from that train of thought as Modo involuntarily bucked up into her. She hissed at the unexpected intrusion.

“I'm s...sorry...” His voice was rough and breathy. She kissed his brow, accepting his apology and pressing herself further down. She was so glad he'd already brought her to completion once already. She really needed the lubrication. Lifting herself up again, she pushed down as hard as she could without pain. He was almost completely inside her now. 

“Oh Charley...Charley-love...” he rubbed his forehead on her shoulder. “I love you so much Charley-girl...”

The same phrase Vinnie had used.

Charley held on to his biceps, using them to anchor her as she rode him. Oh, the sounds he made. If she was honest, this all made her feel more than a little powerful. He was so submissive beneath her, though she could tell that he was extremely strained, that if given half a chance he not would be so willing to sit back and let her do all the work.

“Modo,” she moaned. “please touch me.”

His fingertips pressed into her hips. She knew he was trying to hold himself back. 

“Ch...Charley-ma'am,” he spoke into her neck. “I shouldn't. That's not...”

She put her hands on his face and made him look at her. She kissed him, careful to coordinate her movements so she never stopped riding him. A long, tender soft kiss. She threw her heart into that kiss. She gave Modo the entirety her soul, reassuring him in every way she knew how.

“We're not on Mars.” She kissed his wet nose. “Human girls like a little more interaction.” She ground her hips to his.

Almost shyly he ran his hands up her sides, stopping just below her arms. His flesh hand covered her breast. She saw how reluctant he was to continue.

“It's okay,” She encouraged. “I just needed a minute. It's okay now. Please Modo, don't hold back.”

She recognized fear in his face, but also a desire to please. Obediently, he pushed up into her. She threw her head back and grunted. He did not thrust a second time. 

“You feel so good, Modo. Don't stop.” Wrapping his massive arms around her, he did as she asked.

“Oh Charley...Charley-love, you don't know...” he said in between thrusts. “There are rules...rules for respect. Rules that protect us.” He leaned forward lavishing kisses all over her face. “You make us want to break all those rules...” He lifted her hips and pushed her backwards until he was laying over her. “You are the perfect woman for me Charley.” Modo lifted her left leg and rested it on his shoulder. Charley dug her other heal into his lower back. He hammered into her now, with such ferocity she thought she would split in two. Crying out, Charley griped his furry shoulders, holding on to him with all her strength. His tail slithered around the leg on his shoulder, coiling and tightening. It would loosen and move up and down her skin, stimulating her flesh and bringing tingles all the way to her toes. It would then tighten again, starting the process over. 

He must feeling her up, then. She knew their tails were articulate, but just how sensitive were they?

Modo lowered his antenna to her head without warning. Charley screamed out loud as she was assaulted by the sensations of his body. She could feel what he felt. She felt the slight pain of her nails digging into his skin, how soft hair her was as it rubbed against his face, how slick and warm she was to him. His tail was indeed feeling her up, and oh how he loved the texture of her skin. Soft and supple like warmed leather. With the hairless pads of his palms and fingers he sunk into her smooth and firm bottom, clutching her to him like a lifeline. 

The river of sensation brought her to peak without warning. All the feelings, some new, some familiar, combined to create an orgasm more intense than she had yet known in her young and eventful life.

He desperately sought out release, moving upwards to rest his forearms on the mattress alongside her. Modo continued to rest his forehead on hers, but was also careful to keep the rest of his weight off her. His eye was clenched closed as he lost all rhythm. Charley griped his biceps, fighting to keep her eyes open, desperate watch him as he came to completion. He pulled his head from her, breaking their connection, and kissed her. She felt more than heard him groan deeply, as a rush of heat assaulted her between her legs. When his hips stopped moving, his lips trailed downwards, ending at her neck where he licked and sucked, his uneven teeth leaving behind a bouquet of crimson marks.

They laid together on their sides for sometime afterwards. Modo's arm held her close while his tail lazily wandered up and down her legs. Neither of them slept. Modo couldn't keep his eye off her. His gaze held such warmth and devotion. She felt caressed by his sight of her. At random intervals he would duck his head down and place gentle chaste kisses on the back of her neck and shoulders. She would wriggle closer to him when he did this, feeling him smile against her skin. Eventually, he placed a hand on her hip to still her.

“You shouldn't do that, Charley-ma'am. It might give me ideas.”

She turned her head to look at him, arching an eyebrow.

“'Charley-ma'am'? I know it's you nature to be polite Modo, but don't you think we're a little past that now?”

He shook his head. She could see his eyes were smiling. 

“Not at all. If anything I've got more of an obligation to show respect. You're our girl, Charley.” He kissed her temple, letting out a shuttering breath. “I used to think this would never actually happen, either because of the guys...or you. I always thought I would just have to feel what I feel all on my own and try not to let it bother anyone.” His arm tightened around her. “I think you might be stuck with us now, because there's no way I'm letting you go.”

She smiled at that idea. It put a lot of her fears to rest, and it really was a comforting concept. For the women at least, there was so much security in this sort of arrangement. But how exactly did the guys feel about it?

“Is it ever difficult?” she asked. “For men, I mean. To share like this?”

“Well...not ideally.” She rolled onto her back, looking up at him. “Charley, you have to understand. Some rules cannot be broken. We have them for really good reasons. There has to be respect.”

As her hands slid up his neck, a small sliver of fear tightened around her heart. 

“Am I being disrespectful?” she asked, genuinely curious. He caught one of her wrists and brought it to his lips, kissing her palm.

“Not really,” he chuckled. “But you certainly like to push the boundaries.”

“I don't know any of these rules. You're going to have to teach me.”

He let go of her wrist to hold her face in one hand.

“Don't worry about that. They're not hard to learn. You just got to remember one thing. Don't play favorites with us. We all care about you. As long as you care about all of us equally, it's not hard for us to share. Us Mice learned how to do that a long time ago. We will always take care of you. We will always respect you. All you got to do is love us the same.”

“I think...I think that all sounds really good on paper. But all this talk of respect sounds a little bit cold me. If you're with someone, shouldn't it be about love?

He shrugged. 

“That's just the nature of us guys. Respect comes easy for us, when it's someone we care about. It's you women that remind us to love.”

She thought about that. 

“Modo,” She stroked the back of his neck. These Mice had such amazing pelts. “I respect you.”

“Charley-ma'am,” his voice was especially low and baritone. “Oh Goddess, I love you.” He gave her a soft peck on her eyebrow, letting his lips linger there for moment. Untangling himself from her, he rose from the bed and gathered his clothes. 

She watched him pull on his pants before rolling on her stomach and asking, “Are you leaving?”

“Yeah. I really should.” He reattached the clasps on his chestplate, while the disappointed Earther watched.

“Do you have to?” Even Charley was surprised at how small her voice sounded. She heard Modo take a deep breath.

“It won't always be like this, you know.” he comforted.

“What, with you all loving and leaving me? What's up with that? And for that matter, why do you hesitate to touch me during sex?”

He stopped in middle of pulling on a sock. 

“We just need to make space.”

“Space?”

“For each other.” His eye found hers. “In the beginning like this, it's really important to maintain a little distance. You got to remember, we are telepaths. I mean...sometimes just dealing with your own emotions can be overwhelming. Then you throw everyone else into the mix. It's always better to go slow. If you're not careful people can really get hurt.”

“Oh. That make sense, I suppose.”

“But...you don't like it.”

She made a face

“Who would? And anyways, I think I have to say you have a weird definition of 'slow'.”

He smirked, humorlessly.

“Not always.”

What did that mean? Slowly, she narrowed her eyes at him.

“What exactly have you all been doing?” she hesitatingly asked.

“Just...trying to make good decisions. Only, some of us are better at it than others.”

She knew what that meant. 

“You mean Vinnie.”

He nodded, standing up. “He's never been much of the respectful type. We try to keep him in line, but it don't always work. He shoulda never did what he did without talking to you, or us, first.”

“I think he tried to apologize about that, earlier today.”  
-  
Modo visibly tensed. 

“He wasn't supposed to talk to you like that.” He hung his head. “When he told us what he said to you...Vinnie ain't the best at explainin' things.” 

She agreed with that, wholeheartedly. 

“Don't put all the blame on him. I didn't give him much choice. I was confused and frustrated. If he didn't tell me just something I probably would have thrown a wrench at him.” An image of his black eye flashed in her mind. “Did you hit Vinnie?”

“He broke the rules, Charley-ma'am.” Modo turned his head to her. “There's no excuse for that. We made an agreement together to put you first. He was being selfish. Charley...thank you, for trying at least. We meant to be slower than we were and we all were terrible at it. We care about you so so much. I know we can make this work.”

And with that he left. She stared at the door after he closed it, unsure how to proceed from here. She slumped back on the bed gazing upward. When did life get so complicated? 

When you decided to jump in and just strait up have three boyfriends.

Yeah. That was the right way to put it. She should after all take responsibility for her agreement. And Modo really was so sweet about her acceptance. If nothing else, she was glad she make him happy, and hopefully better his opinion of humans in general. They weren't all so closed minded. There were a lot of good people on Earth. It was just that sometimes new things are scary. She could have said that before all of this started. But she was here having this experience. She needed to face it. If Modo's mother was any indication, it could all turn in something wonderful given enough time. 

Well, there was two down. Really, If she was honest she too worked up about what to expect from Throttle. He'd always been a good friend to her, but she could not recall a single time when he had shown any attraction to her. Modo she understood. His quite respect was in keeping with how his type displayed a crush. And Vinnie...he'd been flirting with her from the moment he met her. 

Did Throttle even like her? Or was he just going along with what his bros wanted? More than anything she hoped that wasn't the case. Charley didn't think she could do this if it was. There was only so far down the rabbit hole she was willing to go. The budding corner of her heart that already loved them all wanted to be as open to him as possible. She wanted to be pleasing to Throttle, now that her fear of their customs were beginning to abate. What she wanted to do most was chase down Modo and ask him what Throttle thought of a relationship with her, but that would be insensitive of her. They ran away after sex because it was their idea of polite. It was a weird kind of polite, although the reason behind made sense to her. She knew now it was one of many new 'guy things' she would be learning.

Well, best get on with it, she thought. No sense waiting around for problems to solve themselves. She rose from the bed and after fiddling the incomprehensible laser-light waterless shower, she pulled on a pair of borrowed sweat pants and trotted her way on bare feet to the tan Mouse, unsure if she hesitated from apprehension or excitement.

-

When Throttle locked eyes with her as she walked into the main control room, he just about jumped out of his seat. 

He had been leaning forward with his crossed arms resting on the console in front of him, the weight of his chin pressing on his forearms. His ears were drooped down low, his expression slack. But the moment he laid eyes on Charley his ears stood up, his spine and tail went ramrod strait. Throttle's knuckles clasped the armrests of his chair. He locked eyes with her, and said nothing. In truth he looked like he wanted to be anywhere in the universe but in a room with her. 

“Hey.” she said, crossing her arms reflexively. 

“...hey.” 

Did his hands squeeze that thing harder? Fur covered skin made such things difficult to make out. 

“Look, um...” Charley started. The tension-filled air caused her to fidget with her jacket zipper. Her gaze drifted to the floor. She found it so hard to keep eye contact him right now, when he was clearly unwanting of her presence. Charley sat down in the chair next to his and swiveled it to face him. She pressed her legs together, trying like hell to make herself look small. “Can we talk? I have a few questions. And I'm not really sure where to start.”

He studied at her for a long time, before responding with a sigh and rubbing a hand over his face. He turned around in his chair to glance back at Rimfire, who was silently watching the scene from the navigator's seat. 

“Hey kid, why don't you go ask your uncle if he can help you check over the main engine's specs. Make sure everything's at a safe level, huh?”

Rimfire, grateful for the excuse to leave, nearly ran out of the control room without a word. Throttle turned his head back her direction, but kept his eyes lowered. 

“So,” She tried to sound nonthreatening. Keeping it light was her strategy. “...why'd you break up with Carbine?” She thought it would be a safe topic. 

Relaxing somewhat, he slumped down in his chair. Pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose, he laughed humorlessly. 

“Because...at the end of the day I'm just some grunt soldier and she is going to be our leader.” He shook his head. “People like that don't have the luxury of waiting. She can't wait anymore. I'm on earth and she's on Mars. That's the way it's gotta be for a while.” He shook his head. “Everything she does will be symbolic. It's what leaders have to be. If she's seen waiting for Earth to be taken care of...that has too many political implications. She can't afford that now.”

It was not the answer she expected, nor was it one she understood. 

“But...I thought Carbine was already the general.”

“Well, yeah.” he started slowly. “She's the general. But this war isn't going to last forever. The military can't always run things. Everything that used to be has been ripped up and torn apart. All we got left are the ideas of how things are supposed to be. The old systems, the parts of society that took care of everyone, they're all dead. Sold out to the enemy, and now there's nothing left. But the rest of us little people are still here and we got to have some kind of government.”

“Is Carbine the only choice? Stoker was a general too, right?”

“Stoker?” His face scrunched up in confusion. “He can't do that.”

“Why not? Isn't he a leader too?”

“But that's not even...” He exhaled sharply. “Charley, Stoker could never be our leader. For the Freedom Fighters, sure. That's not a problem, because we're really not much more than a paramilitary group. We're guerrillas. Technically speaking we don't even have any kind of official standing.” He closed his eyes. “The people trust us, mostly because we were the first group to actually succeed at doing anything about the Plutarchians. But when you're looking for a leader for everyone?” He leaned forward, eyes wide open above his glasses and resting his elbows on his knees. His voice had a patient edge to it, as if he were speaking to a child. “Only women can be true leaders. Everyone else is, at best, a proxy for her.”

Charley felt an odd pang of fear in her belly, knowing what that kind of world view could mean for her and her boys. She pushed it aside and moved on. 

“That sounds limiting.” she noted. 

He shrugged.

“Maybe. Chalk it up to one of those 'ancient tradition' sort of things.” He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “They say the Goddess set it all up at the beginning of creation. The priests always tell us, those who create life should hold dominion of it. It's just what we've always done.”

Okay, she thought slowly. It seemed staying with this topic was providing the kind of answers she was looking for. 

“Carbine told me she didn't connect well with Vinnie and Modo.” Charley cringed as soon as she said it. It did not come out as light as it sounded in her head.

He shifted uncomfortably. Clearly that was not a topic he was ready for just yet. She directed the conversation to another route.

“But what exactly is that connection supposed to be? And your connection to each other. What is that?”

While his tense posture was visibly alleviated, his eyes narrowed and he sat up a little straighter.

“Modo didn't tell you?”

“He told me a little, but it wasn't really enough to go on. Honestly it was all more than a little confusing.”

He watched her for long time without speaking. Leaning forward again, elbows on knees, he put his palms on his forehead.

“We really screwed this up.” he exhaled. “We were going to tell you everything when we got back to earth. Not right away. Maybe in a few weeks. Just bring it all up casually and tell you how we do things on Mars. The three of us...” he gestured at the air. “we always face problems as a team. This...with you...it was all so different than a lot of other things we've dealt with, because normally we're all one the same page about it all. It's our instinct, Charley. We don't even have to think about it. I was the one kinda lagging behind.” He shook his head. “But Vincent just had to jump in at the worst possible time, didn't he? He just doesn't have any self-control, the idiot. Things never should have happened the way they did.” He looked up at her apologetically. “How do put up with us?”

“I throw myself into my work.” She scoffed. Throttle chuckled at that. It was reassuring to see a genuine smile on his face. “I have a few questions I need to ask. Even if it's rough for you, because I do not know a lot about how this works, but I can see that this is all happening a bit fast for you too. I mean, I really don't know what I'm getting in to. Think you could help ease me in?”

He had a hybrid look of relief and wonder written across his face as he nodded to her question. Did Throttle fear that she would less than accepting of them? He must have.

“You all call each other 'bros'.” she began. “I've always had a theory about that.” His ears perked upward, a reflex she long ago realized they did when they where giving her their total attention. She had to admit, he looked cute when he did that. “When you say that, it really doesn't mean what it means in English, right?”

He nodded again.

“What does it mean?”

He started to reply, then stopped. After a moment's hesitation he scooted forward in the chair, reaching out to take her hand. 

“The words...don't really exist in your language. There's no context for them.” He ran his thumb over her knuckles. “I'm going to try something else, tell you our story. I'm hoping if I tell you why we did what we did, it will help understand what it was that we did. We made a choice a long time ago. In the old days it used to be that guys only did things like this after they were married, or they'd only choose to attach themselves their brothers and sisters like this. But right now life is a little rough for my people. Families get broken apart so easily.” He squeezed her her hand and she squeezed back. She knew this part. They told her before how the Plutarchians had ripped apart their society completely. “The three of us have known each other since we were thirteen or fourteen. At the time the only one of who still had living family was Modo. His old lady took us in, after Stoke found us. He was always good like that. When he wasn't out saving the world, he was finding homes for strays like us.” He smiled at the memory. “We didn't get along all that great at first, because Vincent and I were used to fighting everyone to stay alive. We didn't know each other before we came to live there, but we both lived in the same kind of world. A real kill or be killed kind of place. So when we finally didn't have to do that anymore, we didn't know how to react. 

“After we had been there about a year, both Modo and his old lady were getting real sick of us always starting fights. Not just with each other, but just about anyone that we thought was looking at us the wrong way. Modo kept trying to step in and intimidate everyone into just backing off. Most of the time it wasn't that hard for him. He never really liked it when things got messy, but man, when he needs to be rough, Modo is not a guy you want playing for the other team.

“About that time the old lady said we need to either clean up our act or find someplace else to live. But Modo knew us well enough that wasn't going to be a overnight thing for us. Even if we wanted to be better, we just didn't know how to be. We only know how to push people out of the way, how con people, how to hurt others when we wanted something. We never learned anything else. It was different for Modo because he still had his clan, and that kind of support system had kept him from totally loosing it like we did. So he thought he could share that with us. 

“My race...we can create a type of mental connection between us, where we become deeply influenced by each other. It's a little like mind-walking, but a lighter connection. It is constant. To the point where sometimes its hard to figure out if your thoughts are your own or if they belong to you bros. It makes you family, and keeps everyone on the same page, so that if an enemy comes it's a lot easier to fight them off. Movements are coordinated without thinking about it. What would normally take years of training can be accomplished in a few weeks.

“It doesn't have to be permanent, but it can be. For guys at least, it usually is. It's always been our preference to have a bro at your back when things get real messed up. Not everyone does it. These days most of the time we make links between siblings, like Modo's dads. They were brothers.”

“Or half brothers by the looks of it.” Charley offered, emboldened by her understanding of a Martian family structure. “They didn't look anything alike. If their mom had more than one husband, that could happen, right?”

“Yeah, maybe. But to be honest, that's not really something people say out loud. Everyone has a place. The intended effect is to create a support system where everyone is taken care of. Getting hung up on the details of how who is related to who doesn't help anything, so we ignore it. All we really care about is this: dads, mom, their sons, their daughters. Everyone watches out for each other, in slightly different ways, because we all got different strengths. That's how it's supposed to be. But Vincent and I, we had never learned that.

“Modo didn't have any brothers. And both of his dads were dead. That was why she took us in at first. She wanted more guys around to help take care of things. They didn't expect anything more than that from us. Just to help out with chores and watch out for her and her daughter if anything bad happened. In return, she would treat us like her sons. It was a real good thing we had going, only we couldn't see it. So Modo thought that he could make us become the next best thing to brothers, the thing that he had always thought he would become with his own brothers after they were born.”

“What do call it?” She interrupted, eager to know. 

“Liiash.” He replied slowly. “That's the name of the connection. They guys, they are my Liiashlau. 

She tested the word out on her tongue while he continued.

“We straight out refused at first. We knew what liiash was, everyone did. But we thought being connected to other people like that would just slow us down. Make life more dangerous. He hounded us about it for months. He even went so far that he said if we didn't become his Liiashlau, we had to leave. I don't know if his old lady would have forced us out just 'cause of that. It's kind of a harsh thing to do. She just wanted us to stop getting into trouble. But Modo can be real nasty when he has a mind to be. And their cave was a lot safer than being out on the streets. We gave in, mostly to make him shut up about it. We really had no idea what we were getting into. 

“Vincent had the hardest time. Modo was just so mellow and Vincent was...not. He went from having an over-the-top emotional reaction to everything, to a more quiet and fidgety version of himself. He would say it was like he couldn't feel anymore. Like he was dead inside. Modo, as usual, just tried to stay calm with a couple of wild kids in his head. Some days were easier than others. And me? I was so lost. Seeing life from other people point of view made me realized that I didn't know anything about anything. I was just a stupid kid and I had no idea. We all got real quiet for a few weeks. We hardly said anything, even to each other, while we figured how to live when you've got two bros that you can't hide anything from.”

“How come you never told me about this before?” she fretted. “I would have understood. You all wouldn't have had to hide from me like this.”

“To avoid showing you too much too fast?” he confessed. “We didn't want to overwhelm you with weird alien stuff. We needed you to trust us. Our survival, and often yours, depended on it.” 

There was a subtle stream of guilt she had been feeling at her judgments of them. At that moment the stream grew into a river.

“Throttle...”

“Just listen, Charley. The guys...they really love you. We can make this work.”

“Oh Throttle...” She sighed. “You've all said that to me. You're all so adamant about it. But why me? Why not some pretty little Mouse girl who already knows how all of the rules work?”

“My bros fell in love with you Charley-girl, I can't help that. And to be fair, I'm not that far behind them.”

“Okay, sure, That's fine. But you really don't have feelings for me, do you?” She let go of his hands. “Just be honest with me, please.”

“I...” he looked away. “Look, it doesn't matter. As long as the three of you are all on the same page, we can do it. We can make this work.”

“'It doesn't matter'? Of course it matters. Why on Earth, or Mars, would I want to be in a relationship with you, be intimate with you, if you have no real feelings for me?”

“Because I'm going to, no matter what! Don't you get that?” he bluntly stated, startling her. “That's the whole point of this. We affect each other. We might get in arguments sometimes, but in the end we are always on the same page. It's the entire reason why anyone agrees to become Liiashlau. It's to keep the peace and keep everyone safe. I'm more than happy to accept that, Charley. I'm okay with it. I like feeling what my bros feel. It's better when we all match up.” He leaned forward, pressing his palms in either side of her face. “I care about you. I really really really do. Don't ever think for a second that I don't. I'm not completely in love you yet, like Modo and Vincent, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to be. And I could, so easily, if you only give me half a chance. Don't Humans start dating all the time when they just only like each other? Or if there's just a physical attraction, but 'no real feelings' yet? How is this any different?”

She didn't have an argument to that. 

“Okay, just...” She covered his hands with her own and closed her eyes. “You don't have to try so hard to convince me.”

“Are you sure about that?” he challenged. “There isn't some tiny part of you that can't do it? Be a part of what we are and be in our lives like this?”

“Throttle, stop. I'm trying here. Don't make me question myself.”

“Because I have to know.” He continued as if he hadn't heard her. “I can't have my heart broken again. I can't. I'm going to start getting so attached to you and when that happens, Charley, I swear I'll be whatever you want me to be. Just don't leave us.”

She felt so stupid for never noticing before how much they mirrored each others words, or if she had she thought nothing of it. They were three guys who had spent years of their lives together. Why wouldn't they use similar phrases? Knowing now what significance that had, she knew she had missed the mark for so long and there was no excuse. Charley had to make it up to them. She rubbed his hands, still pressed into her cheeks, gently in an effort to calm him down.

“Throttle, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.”

“There was this girl.” he offered. “She was so much like you. She took care us and kept everyone going, even on the worst days. She had her pick of any of the guys in the base, but more and more she kept spending her time with us. Vincent fell hard for her.” He moved his hands downward until they rested on her collarbone. “They took her. It was a spy who was working for the fish the whole time and he took her. We still don't know if she's alive or if she died a long time ago. Charley, do you have any idea how many times we have seen that or something like it happen? We need to keep you close because the Plutarchians know who you are. They know you are a threat to them, not just because you've been helping us, but because you are a mechanic and have useful functional skills that they do not want their enemies to have access to. They will want to get rid of you because you are a women and that's what they do. It's exactly what happened to Harley.”

He let go of her and stood up, taking a few steps away from her. Throttle hung his head and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. With his back to her, he continued. 

“We need to keep you close, Charley. We are soldiers. We can protect you.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Not because we think you're weak. It's because who and what you are is important. And we want you in our clan. We want you in our lives.” Throttle turned to face her. “When Vincent told us what he did, I was so angry. I thought we would loose you forever. Earthers don't do what we do. The idea of it...the reasons for it, we were going to tell you slowly, just a little bit at a time. Only then would we tell you how we felt. By that time I thought I could be over Carbine, and ready for you.” Taking four steps toward her, he knelt down in front of her and rested his hands on her knees. “You deserve the very best from us, Charley. You helped us navigate your world when everything was new. You kept us fed and clothed. You basically did everything that a woman of our clan would have done anyways, except you were a stranger. You didn't have to do any of it. But you did. And we owe you so much.”

“Throttle...you don't owe me anything.”

“You're wrong. We do. We have to keep you safe.” She stared into his intense eyes, watching them dart all over her face. The opaque viridescence of his field specs always gave his eyes an otherworldly glow. “If we lost you too, after everything else that's been taken from us...I don't even want to think about what we would do. We wouldn't be the Mice you know now. We need you. More than you could ever know. We need you in our lives to keep us grounded.”

That was so much more than she expected to hear from him, so much more than she could have ever imagined. Charley knew her boys loved her, had known it for years. She did not know the extent of their dependence on her. Charley had them all wrong. Modo was the one completely in love with her, and Throttle liked her enough to be willing to try. And Vinnie, well, maybe he was as much of a traditionalist as Modo's mother. 

“Do you,” she began. “just not trust me with your heart?”

“It's not you I don't trust.” He looked up at her. “But I do understand your culture. You may not ever run away from us, but can you blame me for being afraid of it? I think a lot humans would run away. They may stay and amuse themselves with us for a while, trying out something new and exotic, and when they were done they would go back to their own people and their own ways, leaving us to feel used, unwanted. It would crush us.” 

His eyes sheltered an ocean of barely hidden anticipation. His fingers wrapped around her arms, just above the elbows. 

“I could love you so much. We would be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

There was his all-male-bravado. They all had it. But in this moment his confidence was discolored by his uncertainty of her.

“We've already talked about it, all the different ways this could go. All of our fears, all the possibilities, good and bad.”

Her mind flashed back to Modo as he worried for her comfort and their incompatibility just before their coupling. How could she show Throttle she was sincere? His concerns were legitimate. Many Humans would do exactly as his claimed. 

“Do you really think I would want to abandon you three? After everything we've been through? Do I really come across as someone so faithless?” 

“But you did.” He countered. “Didn't you? You thought of Modo and wanted to run.”

She went absolutely still.

“How do you know that?” Her voice was low and suspicious. “How do you know what I was thinking?”

His fists painfully squeezed on her arms for the shortest moment, before letting go completely. His face was a display of regret.

“Charley, let me explain...”

“You told me you were touch-telepaths.” she accused. “That nothing could happen without a physical connection. You told me that!”

“Yes, I did. And most of the time that's the case, but Charley...”

“You can't just go snooping around in my head like that.” She swiveled the chair to the side and stood, backing away. He stayed kneeling on the floor, shoulders limp, with his palms facing up. 

“It's not what you think. This...” His gaze drifted downward as he scowled. “This is exactly what I was afraid of.” Throttle's hands clenched as his shoulders shook with tension. “I know you don't get the details. I know you have hardly idea how people communicate with each other when everyone is a telepath. No one is trying to make you feel violated here.”

Her heart clenched for so many reasons. At her own reaction, and his reaction to her. At her abrupt fear for all her boys if they knew all she been thinking of them. 

“Does Modo know?” It came out in a rush, her words dripping with anxiety.

“No. He doesn't.” Throttle grunted.

“Will he? Is that how this works?”

“I can keep it from him, if I try.”

“Please don't tell him. I couldn't stand it if...Throttle, I don't want to break his heart.”

He locked his cybernetic eyes to her flesh ones. His expression was one of compassion, of softness. More than what she thought she deserved. 

“I won't tell either of them for as long as you feel a need to hide from us.”

Oh, these telepaths. Realization dawned on her. They wouldn't hide anything from one another. Maybe she hadn't thought this relationship through. Because if she had it would have occurred that most difficult part of dating her Martians wasn't that there were three of them. It was that they, but nature of what they were and how they were biologically built, didn't hide anything from each other. Everything was out in the open. They would expect that of her too eventually. 

“This is the part where you become too overwhelmed by what we would ask of you, isn't it?”

She shook her head. Her heart hurt.

“I'm better than what you give me credit for, Throttle. You're right when you say Humans in general would react the way you claim they would. You're also right when you say it would have been so much better if I could learn this all slowly and then be told how you all felt.” She pressed her palms into her eyes. “I don't how we will make this work, but I will try. I think I need a little bit of time right now. Let's just take this slow, okay?” 

He didn't respond for the longest time. Instead he kept his gaze focused on her, his face unreadable. Then, he rose to his feet and approached her in measured, even paces. He leaned into her, placing a hand on the back of her neck and the other on her hip. Through the semi-transparent lenses of his specs, his eyes were so wide.

“You'll accept us? Really?” She felt his voice reverberate in her chest, sending tingles down her spine. He did not say it like he believed it to be true. Since she began this conversation with him he had been so agitated, almost neurotic. His odd intense waves of emotion made sense now.

“You didn't believe I would? You thought I would just indulge you all for a while and then abandon you? How could you think that of me? I might be a little slow to accept all this, but I'm not leaving any of you.” She raised a hand to the side of his face and stroked the fur there. He rubbed his head against her caress. “I'm willing to love you all, if you're willing to be patient with me.”

Throttle pulled back a bit, a relieved smile settled on his hansom features. He nodded to her request. Charley felt pressure on her neck as he leaned in and kissed her. He took his time with her, nipping at her lower lip and licking at her teeth. Though she was reluctant to jump in so quickly, she was also eager to show him in every way possible how much she was willing to be in their lives as their lover. She opened her mouth to him, drawing him in. He sunk into her, letting his hands wander around her back. This wasn't bad, she thought. These boys feared her prejudices. And they had good reason to. But it was rather nice, she had to admit, to be so cared for by all of them. 

When Throttle ended the kiss, she felt the lost of him more strongly than she would have expected. 

“Thank you.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I truly didn't know if you would be open to us Charley-girl. I'm so happy you are.”

“Hey, open is my middle name. Besides, you lummoxes mean too much to me. I could never let you go so easily. ” Charley leaned in and kissed him again, loving the feel him. Their slightly larger mouths gave way to an entirely different experience than any Human man she had been with. His tongue had more reach, his jaw longer and his mouth deeper. But he kissed her expertly, with the practiced skill of one who used to pleasing a lover so very different than himself. 

He let her lips go, but kept his forehead on hers, breathing heavily. 

“I'm sorry I let this go so far, Charley-girl. I guess I fell for with you too, in my own way. It just...got away from me before I realized what happened. I need you in my life. Before all this craziness started, I was already yours.” He pulled away to look her directly. “I...I connected with you too.”

Her eyes widened, unsure of his meaning. 

“You what?”

He gently ran his fingers though her hair. 

“It's all one-way. Not so deep, really. We mind-walked and I left a part of myself behind. Were you a confident telepath, it wouldn't have happened. But you weren't and I wasn't careful enough and now this is the result.”

She felt her shoulders grow tense and deliberately tried to calm herself. 

“I'm not...peaking into you when your not looking, or trying sneak around your thoughts. It doesn't work like that. When you feel something really strong, so strong it's like you're screaming it inside, I know. I can't help but know.”

“Can you...turn it off?” She question cautiously.

“I...yeah, and mostly I have been doing that. But now...I don't want to. I would rather leave it open. You're a part of the clan now, right? I need to know your mind, Charley. Not just so I can protect you, but for me too. I want to be connected to you.”

The fact that he had just called her clan did not go unnoticed by her. But its exact meaning, whether or not it had the same definition as what she understood to be family, was not clear to her. 

“This...is the normal thing to do on Mars. Isn't it?”

“Yeah...it is. It's probably pretty scary for you, to let other people in like that.”

She placed her hands on his biceps, pushing him back a fraction of an inch. They distance it put between them was mostly symbolic.

“You have no idea. But I can't imagine what Earth's got to be like for you three, with Humans having no telepathy at all.”

He gave a half smile. A bantam smirk betraying a secret he never intended to keep.

“Sure you are. Humans are all kinds of telepathic, Charley-girl. If you weren't I wouldn't have been able to mind-walk with you. It's just your biology makes it a little more work. Most of you never leaned how to pay attention to this part of yourselves. The problems there are mostly cultural. It ain't no fantasy, babe. Humans have very powerful minds.”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, you certainly do.”

“You're lying. That can't be true.”

“I'm not. I could tell that about Humans from the first second I was on Earth. The night we met and I showed you Mars, I did that because it didn't occur to me that Humans would be so unaware of their own abilities. I know I scared you, but I didn't know that until I had already started.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Your people have myths and urban legends about it, don't they? That comes from instinct, what you all got hidden inside.”

“I thought...you all said that Martians were different. Everyone there had more mental abilities.”

“Only by a slight margin. We could teach you, if you want, all the things you could be capable of.” 

“I wouldn't even...let's just do one thing at time.” She raked her fingertips threw his fur, savoring it's softness. “Where does this leave you and me?”

His hold on her loosened. 

“Where do you us to be want to be left?” His words were careful. “Do you want to...”

His implication produced in her a deep discomfort. His Liiashlau may have been more than ready, but Charley knew a thing or two about new relationships. And about leaving old ones behind. 

“Not really. Not right now.” She spoke softly, intending to reassure Throttle after his skiddish behavior. “Do you?” She already knew the answer. 

“I'm...” He let go of her and looked away. “It's just...if you really wanted to go that route, I wouldn't say no. But...”

“You're not over her, are you?”

“Not in the least.” he confessed. “I just need some patience, too. It wouldn't be right, to be with you while I'm thinking of her.”

She winced at his bluntness. 

“Alright. So, you and me are on the back burner.” Charley deliberately ignored his look of confusion. 

“Yes.” he ventured, inferring her meaning. “You really shouldn't worry about Modo. This...with you...it's going a lot better than we thought it would. You can be open with us. We won't judge you. I think we need to get together and talk this all out. We all need to be on the same page...”

“Stop saying that, please.” she chastised good-naturedly. “I need to get you boys an idiom dictionary.”

He leaned in unexpectedly and kissed her shoulder. 

“You give us too much. We don't appreciate you enough, Charley-girl.”

“Don't...just be who you are. The three numbskulls who crashed into life one night, and who I could never figure out how to get rid of.”

“Ouch, babe. And here I though you liked us.”

Charley scoffed, giving him a friendly thump him on the arm with a fist.

“Could you do something for me?” She asked. 

“Anything, babe.”

Charley bit her lower lip.

“Back off for a while? I think I need a little time, you know? Just want a day or two where none of you are going to come on to me. I got to have a little while to process all of this.” 

With the tip of his tail, Throttle traced the side of her arm, elbow to shoulder. 

“You got it, babe.” He smirked. “I'll keep Vincent in check.”

“What about Modo? He might be worse.”

“Yeah, you got a point there. Don't worry about it, though. We'll keep our distance.” He stepped back, giving her a hard look. “You're really okay? With us?”

She ran a hand nervously through her hair. 

“Not completely. But I will be.” She gave him a nudge with her hip bone. It landed on his mid-thigh. “You three really are the best a girl could ask for.”

His face spread into a stunning smile. Charley could practically feel his pride swelling.

She stayed with him for the rest of the night. He was always touching her. A hand through her hair, a brush of his tail on her leg. He did not go long without some form of physical contact. Charley did not lean into his touches, nor did she pull away. She allowed a halfway point for the two of them to meet. A concession she thought not only polite but necessary. The guys were already thoroughly protective of her. From her experience their type would soon become some amount of possessive as well, if they had not already. 

Her sympathetic nature kept forcing its way through her thoughts. How many concessions had they given her? How much of what they considered normal did they give up on to be with her? Throttle claimed they owed her, but in her mind she would always be the one who owed them. Three soldiers crashing into her life and giving her a family again, for literally saving her more times than she could count. For being her brothers. And now for being her boyfriends. 

Boyfriends.

That was such an odd word to use. It would take some definite getting used to. But she could do it. In time she could be what they deserved. 

When the planet-hopper landed at the scoreboard, the goodbyes with Rimfire were short and cursory. The young soldier left and for a brief moment as Charley stood there with her three guys, each of them resting a hand on their bikes, as an awkward silence passed over them. 

Throttle took a step toward forward.

“Charley-girl...”

“A couple of days, remember?” She cut him off. “I don't know about any of you, but I'm beat. I'm going to home.” 

Throttle looked at both of his bros.

“Uh...” 

“Yeah, I know.” His implication was made abundantly clear by her lack vehicle. She pointed at Vinnie. “You take me.”

The alabaster mouse perked up, ears facing forward. 

“You got it, babe.” He smiled. “Anywhere you want to go, I'm your mouse.” 

Charley felt his tail uncomfortably griping her hip bones as she was lifted into the air. When she was settled on the saddle behind him she felt its tip brush the inside of her jeans above her buttocks. 

“We can go as fast as you like. Or as slow...”

She swore she could hear Modo growl. 

“Vinnie, not now. Where's my helmet?”

He took it out of a compartment and limply handed it to her. She took it and jammed it on her head. At her nod Vinnie silently, and quickly, tore out there, making his way to the Last Chance Garage. 

“So...” he ventured. “You and Throttle...”

“No.” came the blunt reply. “Not really. We just need some time. Both him and me.” She gave a heavy sigh. “Could we just not talk. I'm really tired.”

“Yeah. Sure thing, babe.” His tail tightened around her mid section. She noticed with some apprehension that they sped up. Charley squeezed her eyes shut, rather than watch the dizzying blur of Chicago's scenery slid past them. When they arrived, Charley dismounted before Vinnie could assist her. After closing the garage door she pulled the helmet off and raked her nails through her scalp.

“You're a real jerk, you know that?” She set the helmet aside. 

Vinnie averted his gave. 

“I...”

“Just what exactly were you trying to accomplish?”

“I don't know. I just...” He fiddled with a knob on his bike. “You were there, and I was there, and you were safe. I wasn't...going to...” He tore his helmet off. “I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see you again. But then we found you. You were sold to Sand Raiders, Charley. Do you have any idea what they could have done to you?” He threw a leg over his bike a took a step towards her. “I lost it so bad when I saw you there, with chains on your arms. You were screaming. And then it was all just one thing after another. We never had a minute to stop. But when I finally had a second when I could talk to you...”

Charley had every intention of staying angry at him. She planed this out so she give her mouse the chewing out they both knew he deserved. But looking at him now, hearing his side, she couldn't help but feel that tension in her shoulders, that burning in her chest dissipating just a bit more than she would have liked. 

“I just want to know you're okay. I know you hate it, but I just want to protect you. Charley...” He reached out to hold her face. “You can't know how much it drives me crazy, seeing you in places like that. I don't ever want to let you get hurt.”

“Vinnie...” She covered his hand with hers. 

“I know I crossed a boundary. But I'll make up to you, babe. I swear.”

That tiny scientific voice in her mind demanded to be heard. It said to her, how much of his words and actions was nothing more than the result of a biological urge to reproduce? How far would he go? What were all the things he was say to get back on her good side?

Charley decided it was best to let that go. These guys came into her life as friends first, brothers eventually, and then as lovers now. They may have clearly been a bunch of oblivious boys from time to time, but they were family now. 

It this what makes up a clan?

She still had so many questions. But for now she would do what she could to offer comfort to the mouse in front of her. 

She smiled.

“How much have the guys been chewing you out for that?”

His shoulders slumped as he exhaled. 

“A lot. More than a lot. I haven't seen Modo like that in long time.” He coiled his tail around her hips and drew her close. “He would do anything for you, Charley-girl. We all would.” He burrowed his nose into her hair. 

His warmth settled around her. She would have been happy to stay there like that with him, or invite him up to her room like she knew he was hoping for. But Charley knew her limits. She needed time. She needed rest. And most off all she needed a shower. With good old fashioned Chicago municipality water. As fascinating as the Martian photonic version was, it did not hold they same immediate sensation of relaxing comfort that the idea of hot steam and soap did for her. 

She pulled away from him. 

“I'm not mad at you.” she clarified. “At least not any more. I'm ready to make this work with you guys.” 

He kissed her then. It was the same rough, thoughtless, desperate kiss he gave her in that cave on Mars. And just like before, Charley felt herself being pulled along for the ride. 

3She ended it far too soon for both their liking, and had to stop him when he breathlessly tried to kiss her again. 

“I just...I just need a few days. To get used to all this, you know?” 

With eyes squeezed shut, he nodded. And slowly, painfully, he let her go and walked back over to his bike. He picked up his helmet and spoke.

“I feel like everyone's trying to make me wait. You, Modo, Throttle.” he chuckled. “I think maybe even the gods are in on this.” Vinnie carefully slid the helmet over his ears. “I'll wait for you as long as takes, Charley-girl.”

He sped off. Charley's next thought was that he must have been using speed to stave off his sexual frustration all these years. Well, it probably best to let him. It was far less destructive then some of the other things he normally did. 

She put his antics out of her mind, pulled out the trap door and climbed the latter to her room. After an hour long shower, Charley collapsed on her bed with her towel still wrapped around her mid-section. She dreamed long vivid dreams about her furried men, their red sands, and of the adventures they had yet to have.


	2. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I want to assure everyone that I have not forgotten this fic at all. In fact I work on it quite regularly and all the chapters are at least partially written. I am, admittedly, a slow writer, On top of that, I have a story in my head that I worry is beyond my writing ability, so I revise constantly because I want to get it right. 
> 
> My beta, theherocomplex, is the reason this fic is at all readable. Thank you so much!  
> I started writing the sequel to this fic. Originally I meant it to be a kind of exposé on the social fitting together of a group relationship, but it's coming out to be something else entirely. Because, try as I might, I cannot get over that these dudes are friggen telepathic! I wish more fanfics addressed what this would mean to their society and people would get along with each other.
> 
> In any case, part two is up. I refrain from using the word 'chapter' as I do not find it accurate. This is not a linear story. More like the same story told four times over, each time starting and ending in a different place, depending on where the most relevant points are for each character. Chapter four is kicking my butt, because apparently I'm obsessed with gender rolls, be they from real life or fictional societies. (who am I kidding, just look at my tumbler. That is almost the only thing I post about.) 
> 
> On that topic I started a Biker Mice blog, going by the name Really Sexy Martians. For, you know, more reasons than just looking at gifs Martian muscles. (...tbh that's totally the reason.)
> 
> There are some subtleties in this part that differ from part one. If you see these, I urge to keep in mind that this from the perspective Of another character, and he has a different opinion than Charley. Additionally, I'm not much of a purest when it comes to cannon, and anachronisms make me smile. So you may find several references to modern technology that was not necessity available in the early nineties. 
> 
> Also, every be aware that there is a Biker Mice mobile game coming out soon! Buy it. Give them your money. It shows the fandom is still alive and they might give us more stuff!
> 
> Hope you like it. Please review.

-

 

Once upon a time there was a tall gray Mouse who crash landed on an alien planet in the middle of a football game. He met a pretty alien girl and rescued her from a thug -- a thug who was clearly not from her closed-off world. He fell in love with the girl five minutes after he met her. It was storybook perfect, ridiculous in its simplicity, with all his most adolescent expectations fulfilled.

That was the story Modo liked to tell himself. It was so easy to think in this way. He'd known other Mice who tended to be stark realists about the universe, but he wasn't raised that way. His parents taught to him to expect the Goddess wanted him to be successful and be prosperous. So, the most natural course of thought for him was this avenue he amalgamated from all the adventure tales he'd heard as a child. He would fight the bad guy, rescue the girl, live happily ever after. It left out the truth's messy details. It was a story that he would repeat on those painfully warm summer nights at the scoreboard when he couldn't sleep. Nights when he wondered, regardless of his actual feelings for her, if they would ever see General Carbine again. She was so far away, and they had accepted so much responsibility for this little blue world. While he knew it was good and right and honorable for them to do so, there were still moments when he would prefer to not feel like they had to chose between Earth and Charley, or Mars and Carbine.

Although Modo had never shared with the general anything more than a friendly hug or two (a deliberate choice on his part), there was a distinguishable budding affection in his heart for her that he'd been nursing for years, a slowly opening seed he cautiously dared to water when the days of endless battle nearly drove him to the most frustrating ends. He ached for a woman. Not only for the physical reasons, but as a partner to their triad. He wanted a lover for his heart as well as his desires. Modo knew his bros felt the same way. Vinnie was clearly hurting for affection, and was not shy about letting everyone know.

Throttle was another story.  

Modo had long suspected that their tan bro had been shirking tradition and gone off on his own with Carbine, even before they had had any agreement with her. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel a little jealous, but he didn't blame Throttle. It was good that one of them was close to her. Typically, the intention by doing this is to cause the inevitable feelings of attachment to grow between the three of them and their soon-to-be lover. In some ways this action violated tradition, but over all it was understood. Modo could wait for his turn. After all, it wasn't as if they were expected to remain celibate before finding a serious partner. Just not so emotional. There was an old saying amongst his people: boys could do what they wanted, but men had responsibilities. In his experience a person's technical age didn't define which side of that fence they fell on. It was only action, how much and what kind, that proved the distinction. There would have to be a talk between him and his bros to reach an agreement on what they all wanted.

But all those assumptions came from before they were captured by the Plutarchians and sent to a POW facility on the other side of the solar system. After years living under the Plutarchians' care, they eventually managed to escape during an unscheduled prison riot. The Goddess must had been with them that day, because somehow they were able to find a Martian Metrocruiser, stuffed into storage and forgotten about, and make their alleviating way back home. From the direction they had been traveling, however, they had to make a pass by Earth. Although Earth was further inward in the solar system, the orbits' of Mars and Earth had been on opposite sides of the sun. And the Plutarchians, who refused to let even a small handful of prisoners escape, tracked and shot them down. The had been gone so long that everyone they knew likely thought they were dead, and when they were finally so close to their home, by sheer dumb luck they landed on Earth rather than Mars. But on Earth there was a caveat that Modo and his bros knew but had forgotten about.

On Earth, there were women in droves.

They discussed it while riding through Chicago on that first day. Cautiously, they would explore this world, opening themselves up to whatever it was willing to offer. So long as they were stranded here, what was the harm anyway? They would even go as far as to be willing to go their separate ways with Earth women, as it was apparent to them that was how these people preferred things. And why wouldn't they? These people had none of the imbalance between the population numbers of the two sexes that, someway or another, his people had always managed. Modern times may be a bit extreme, but Cave Mice had run into this problem before. Sometimes, they could only blame themselves for creating it.

They met Charley that night. After that, for him there was only her.

Their dark haired ambassador to this world, she invited them into her life after only a moment's hesitation. None of them felt any grudge against that, as she was one of only a handful of humans having known first hand that there was life outside their tiny water covered planet. So much peace this place had known. Alongside that there was such purposeless violence. They had fallen in love with Earth just he fell in love with Charley. Their human girl tied them to this world. And eventually they chose together that they could not leave Earth to the Plutarchians as long as Charley still made that world her home.

Throttle, as much as he threw out that their mate was to be Carbine, had fallen for her too, after a fashion. He resisted harder and longer than Modo ever could. There were consequences to mind-walking with the inexperienced. It having been done only one time shouldn't have been an issue. Modo could only surmise that humans were of a weaker mind than any of them could guessed. After one Terran year Modo knew what had resulted. Those filigree flashes of thought, images of her from stolen glances, slipped into his dreams so delicately he barely noticed them until they crowded his mind completely.

Did Vinnie notice? Or was he acting on instinct and impulse as he most often did?

Against his better judgment, Modo began to make it a point to spend time with her alone. He would stay long after his bros left, helping Charley clean up the kitchen or finish up a late night project in the garage. On occasion it would be late enough that she would make up a cushioned nest for him on her living room floor and insist he spent the night. Some nights he would stay. Others he would leave. Never could he decided which was more painful.

On the nights he stayed, he usually retreated back to the scoreboard before anyone woke up. A few of those mornings, he was less than successful.

Vinnie was pushing himself up from the couch, clearly having slept there. His pelt stuck out at odd angles around his shoulders and neck. With an exasperated sigh, he sleepily rubbed at his eyes.

“You're killing me here, bro,” he accused.

“Yeah...” Modo was still standing at the door, having just closed it as silently as possible. Not silently enough, it would seem. “Not any worse than I'm killin' myself.”

Vinnie scoffed. “Good for you. 'Cept some of us don't have such good memories keep us company on these kind of rough nights.”

“And that's my fault?” He threw a metal hand at himself, wincing slightly as it bounced off his sternum. “Don't blame me just 'cause you're all talk.”

Modo focused on the two pink eyes narrowing aggressively at him.

“You know that's not true. It was a numbers game that not everyone can beat, brother.” He spat the last word venomously. “Besides, why do you bother wasting your time when you don't even know if she could handle your huge ass.” He gestured dismissively at Modo.

Modo clenched his fists, taking a step forward. Having this fear thrown in his face did not make for a happy Mouse.

“You...”

“Guys!” Throttle called out. He leaned against the bedroom door frame, arms crossed and brow furrowed. “It's too early for that shit. Let it go.”

Vinnie harrumphed and pointed his eyes at a couch cushion without further argument.

The tan Mouse sauntered over to his bro and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“What are you doing, man? You know that can never work. You're just making it harder on the rest of us. We made promise. As long as Carbine's alive we gotta keep that promise.”

Modo closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I know. I know all that, Throttle.” Pressing flesh fingers into his forehead, he continued. “You think I want this? I _want_ to put an end to what this fish are doing to this world. I want to get rid of everyone who works for them, just so I know that there no more threats to Earth. I want to get my hands on that transporter, go back to Mars, find Carbine and finally start my life!”

“We know, bro.” Throttle's hand tightened reassuringly. “We all feel the same way. But you're just throwing yourself into temptation. I don't want to mess around with Charley-girl. She's important to us.”

“She's important to me to, man. Don't talk to me like I don't think about the consequences. But you gotta understand, you went off with Carbine, right?” Throttle clenched his jaw at that. “Oh, don't give me that, bro. Like we couldn't tell. You know what it's like to be pulled in when a woman pays attention to you. You gotta have some sympathy, right?”

“Carbine's not an alien. There's nothing we'd have to tiptoe around with her.”

“Charley's hotter than Carbine.” Vinnie offered his two cents, his voice muffed from the pillow he held over his face. Modo schooled his features to betray no opinion, while Throttle yanked the pillow off and outwardly glared at him. “What? It's true! Look at her hips to waist ratio. A perfect seventy percent. That ain't just me. That's science.”

Throttle shook his head threw the pillow back at him, turning to Modo.

“You're messing with all of us, bro. You really want to take this back home to Carbine?”

“That ain't fair, Throttle.”

“It's the truth.”

“Aw, lay of him Throttle.” Vinnie jumped in again. “The guy just wants a girl that reminds him of the old lady. Charley's got a temper that comes pretty close.”

“Exactly whose side are you on?” There was a slight growl that Modo heard sneak into Throttle's words.

“I don't know! I haven't decided.”

“Well, what are supposed to do? Flip a coin? We're not trying to decide what movie to watch or what to eat tonight. We're talking about who we might be spending the rest of our lives with.”

“Charley is here with us now,” Modo quipped.

“We made a promise to Carbine first.”

“But what if we didn't?” Modo continued.

“Modo...” Throttle warned.

“I know we did. But _if_ we didn't, where would you be with Charley-girl?”

Throttle didn't answer.

“Come on, man. I want to know where you stand with her. Can't you just give me that?”

“She...” Throttle sat down on a chair by the window, rubbing his eyes under the specs. “Walking down that path with Charley has got a lot more issues than you guys are willing to admit. This planet...these people, they do not give anything up to their women easily. Two generations ago a human woman had hardly any social standing outside of who her husband was. A century ago they couldn't even own property in their own name.” He gazed at them both, imploringly. “You want to take someone from that kind of background and put them in a place where they have all this expectation to be a decisive clan leader?” He shook his head. “I'm not saying she couldn't do it. What I'm saying is that it's unfair to think she'd be okay that just because we are. But you know what?” He threw his arms outward. “I might be wrong. She may be completely fine with all that. But it doesn't matter because we _already have a girl back home_.” He looked directly at Modo. “This conversation is pointless. Get your act together, man. Charley's great and all, but we're not going to be on Earth forever.”

Defeated, Modo muttered an agreement. He couldn't argue with his bro's logic. She was their guide here on Earth. They all needed her. Charley was great. Really great. But she was a friend. Only that one small connection could be acceptable. A promise was made and must be kept. Throttle was right. They could not give in to what he desired of her. The dishonor was unacceptable.

“Hey man.” Vinnie called. Modo plopped down next to him on the couch. “I know it sucks. Believe me, I get it.”

Modo hung his head in his hands.

“What if it was just me?” he asked. “Just for a while. She and I could do our thing and then when we're done here I go back Mars and do everything that's expected of me.”

Throttle raised an eyebrow.

“You really think that a good idea, bro? With all this... _stuff_ you got going on for her, you could just back off and pretend it never happened. We have to deal with her, too. I don't know about you Vincent, but I can't handle all that. It would drive me crazy. I love Charley-girl. We all do. But we can't love her like that.”

Modo exhaled roughly. His chest and shoulders ached. He felt an empty, cold oppressive hold over him. Modo was not a guy with much skill in the way of vocabulary, and he knew it, but he could put a word on this feeling. He named it despair.

“There is no getting around this, bros.” Throttle's firm voice allowed for no argument. “Charley-girl is a friend only.”

And reluctantly they agreed that she never could be more than that.

-

“I slept with Charley.”

When Vinnie finished that sentence, Modo felt his heart drop to his stomach. His fists shook with rage.

No. _No!_

Vinnie could not have done what he had just confessed to doing. He was a lot of things, but there was no way that even he wasn't that disrespectful. Or stupid.

Modo could understand his bro was desperate. He was lonely and scared and wanted the same thing that they all did. To wake up in the morning with a warm female body pressed against him. To smell on her fur the scent of his bros and know that they were a complete clan, fully equipped for survival. To watch her belly swell with life and to shout at the Plutarchians that they could take everything they wanted from Mars, and the Mice would survive. They would endure. They would thrive.

Fate had never quite matched up well with the trio when it came to women. It was, however, fair to say that had become the way of things for so many Cave Mice in modern times. No one bothered to spend the traditional two Martian years (or almost three Earth years, as Modo had found himself still thinking in terms of Earth time) exploring a possible partner's mind and heart. It was now too costly to take as much time seeking out the kind of psychic compatibility that made a stable relationship. His grandparents would have not been pleased. A generation ago it would have been unthinkable for two people to rush into anything serious. They would have followed the convention of the times, pair off and slowly, telepathically, taking stock of each others souls.

His mother had told him of a time when she was young and her family's adherence to the old ways of Goddess worship had lost them friends on many occasions. They lived in an urban environment. It was a place of wealth and ease, where social attitudes had been taking on a rapid evolution. They were told to let go of their silly superstitions and accept modern ideas. The Goddess was an invention of a more primitive time, when life was more precious and staying alive more difficult. We Mice are a space-faring race now, they would say. It was time to put away such childish ideas and let men and women live in equality with each other. The old ways were demeaning to men and put too much responsibility on women.

But then the slow invasion of the Plutarchians began and the female population had dropped to frighteningly low numbers. Then men had lived and died their entire violent lives never knowing the touch of a woman.

There was always the obvious alternative, he knew. And many had taken it, if for no other reason than to ease the frustration of living in a time where the gender ratio was so skewed. But that bothered him. There was, of course, nothing wrong with men seeking each other out for comfort, as long as it was a voluntary choice rather than act of hopeless desperation. He knew he was fortunate to have always had women in his life. His mother, his sister, and later his niece. In his greed, Modo always hoped the Goddess would grant him a wife as well.

Even if she was from another planet. He could accept that.

He would happily accept Charley. She had eyes like the sea and a heart just as deep. Modo loved the way her toned muscles showed through her alien skin. His hands ached to touch her arms where the thin fur was just barely visible in the right lighting. However, he was all too aware that if they did not tread carefully they could scare her off and would end up losing her forever. Not to mention there was tradition involved in which order they would approach her. Modo, as the one who first initiated their desire of her, was expected to begin the official courtship. Throttle would be the last, because he was their leader. It was his duty to them to make certain everyone was settled and comfortable. Emotions usually ran high in the beginning of these arrangements. The leader was needed to make certain that there were no misunderstands between the group. If there were, he would stay in the background, seeking only general affection from their new lover, until all could be resolved. By default Vinnie should have been second. By common sense Vinnie should have stayed the hell away from her.

Everyone, even Vinnie, knew how little self control he had.

The evening after Limburger escaped back to Earth in his now damaged transporter, Throttle came to his bros and told them Carbine couldn't wait anymore. She would accept the position she had been offered and take all the responsibilities that came with it. And she too would forge a marriage based on the old ways of Goddess worship, likely with some set of Liiashlau more befitting of her new social status.

Even though there hadn't been much of a mutual attraction or psychic connection between her and Modo or her and Vinnie, in these times a guy took what he could get and was grateful for it. A connection could grow later on. It often did when one was in a relationship with a set of men who had a liiash union. Originally, when they found themselves back on Mars, there was so much relief between the three of them. As soon as they got their hands on Carbine they would _finally_ begin the courtship that they had agreed to so long ago. Leaving Charley behind hurt all of them, but still they could find hope in what they thought would come next.

Fate wasn't nearly so kind.

After being captured by their own people, (twice!) accused of treason by the very woman they were most excited to see, breaking out of prison, chasing down an escaping Limburger, _randomly_ discovering a chained up Charley-ma'am dangling from a cliff and almost being tossed into a bottomless pit...well, all Modo wanted to do was ride off into the sunset towards his mama's cave and take a nap in his old bed. After a day like that, being around both of those woman at the same time was just far too emotionally exhausting for him.

In the end they took Charley to his mother's to give her some peace and he stayed at the freedom fighter base trying like hell to avoid Carbine at all costs. Maybe she was doing the same, because he never once saw her there.

To him, Carbine was...well, she was a perfectly acceptable woman and under any other circumstances he would be proud to make her a part of his clan. But his heart had wandered away without his consent. He knew that of the three of them, it would be him that would come to desire her last. Modo didn't want to make Throttle wait like that, but Modo could not simply turn off his feelings.

Over the next two days everything he had assumed about their relationship with those two women turned out to be completely wrong.

Carbine was to be given the right of rulership for their burgeoning new government. That was no small honor. In the old days, women were groomed for such a position at adolescence. The upper social classes that provided the girls to govern and legislate in the name of those they served had been one of the first to leave Mars during the war. After they had been paid off by their Plutarchian malefactors, they had fled, leaving Mars to its fate. The embittered masses were left to fend for themselves, given only a limited assistance from the corrupt military. The people wanted a leader they could trust, a woman they knew who would both serve and fight on their behalf. It was a custom many were eager to return to, as the presence of an official Matriarch would ease the hearts and minds of the battered Mice. But it also meant Carbine would be called away from her would-be boys. A Matriarch could not be so involved with soldiers. They were an entirely incompatible social class.

It was still hard for them to think of Carbine as one of those refined elegant ladies. She was just as much of a soldier as those who she could no longer make her lovers. Modo was sure that with Carbine at the lead, there was to be several traditions whose relevance would be re-evaluated by their Matriarch.

So, on that night when a distressed Throttle broke down and told them of the situation, Modo was overjoyed, a fact which Throttle quickly remedied with a sucker-punch to the face. In a bizarre twist of events, Vinnie was forced to be the mature one and break up his brawling brothers before someone was actually hurt. What followed between them was a long discussion of how to approach Charley, if they even _should_ approach Charley. She was an alien and may not even want them.

On the other hand...she was already their girl, and had been for years.

Every part of their society would expect the four of them to be together. On Mars, there would have been no questioning it. Stoker had given them all a stern talking-to when he landed on Earth the first time. Thinking they had gotten involved with Charley when there was a clear agreement with them and Carbine, he was angry with them, spouting out terms like 'dishonorable' and 'abandonment'. None of this went over well with Modo's sexually frustrated brother. The entire time Stoker was there, Vinnie looked for excuse after excuse to put down and ridicule their aging mentor. It was all cleared up eventually, but Vinnie always was the type to forgive slowly.

Karma was about to bite him in the ass, because if they lost their Charley-girl over his childish impatience, Modo wasn't sure he could forgive Vinnie for a long time.

There was a moment of time after Vinnie had spoke where Modo could not remember what had happened. Vinnie confessed and Modo reacted with all the patience of a charging rhino. Next thing he knew Throttle was pulling him off their impulsive brother, while said brother grunted in pain. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Modo noted that Vinnie did not try to fight back.

“Did you even say the prayer?” Modo shouted as Throttle held him back, his hand gripping the front of his chest-plate. “Or did you just rut into her like a feral rat?” He tossed the weaponous words out, noticing with satisfaction how Vinnie flinched at the accusation.

“Of course I said it.” came a quiet reply through clenched teeth. “I said it and I meant every word. I know I screwed up, but I'm not some animal.” He slumped against a cave wall, clutching at his left shoulder where Modo had gotten in a good hit.

“Vincent, you did more than screw up,” Throttle said in a dark tone. “Your actions put Charley in a place between the three of us that she has no understanding of. You betrayed her trust. Do you even realize how careful we needed to be if we wanted her to work out with us?”

Without looking at his brothers, Vinnie nodded.

“Earthers hold their women down. They don't learn their true power. We have to be so so careful, or she's going to think that we just want to possess her, like some toy.”

“But Charley's smart.” Vinnie pleaded. “She'll get it, I know she will. She's not a small minded bigot and she isn't going to judge us like that.”

“We can't make any assumptions.” Throttle let go of Modo, who was just regaining his self control. “Every step we take needs to be coordinated carefully between us.”

“You stay away from her!” Modo grunted. “You don't talk to her. You don't even look at her. Charley is off limits to you.”

Vinnie scowled and stood up straighter, challenging Modo.

“Just for a few days, Vincent,” Throttle reassured him. “Wait until we get back to Earth. It'll be easier for her once she's in familiar territory. Then we'll talk it out and see what she thinks.”

Modo felt his arms flex involuntarily and his hackles stand on end. He spoke threw clenched teeth. “If she rejects us because you had no self-control, Vinnie, I swear...”

“Modo.” Throttle spoke quietly, warningly, stepping in between Modo and Vinnie. “Let's be honest here. There are so many reasons why she could reject us. Most of them have nothing to do with our bro. We're all frustrated. We all want this to work. If you got some emotions about that to deal with, you don't do here.”

Modo let out a long, threatening growl before turning on his heels and stomping out of the room, slamming the door behind him. However Throttle and Vinnie finished that conversation he didn't know, nor did he care. He was scared and angry. Vinnie was an easy scapegoat and Modo latched on the moment the opportunity presented itself.

The truth was that he was jealous of his chalky brother. Jealous that he had been intimate with her first. Jealous of how easily he flirted with her for so long. Jealous that out of the three of them, Vinnie had been the one Charley rode with the most. He would watch them, out of the corner of his eye, while Vinnie would wind his tail around her midsection, adjusting the tension there just a bit more than necessary. It was for her safety, the candescent Mouse claimed. Modo agreed with him, of course, but still he'd rather it had been him gripping her by the waist from behind with his posterior appendage.

He darted through the halls without purpose, ignoring friendly greetings and salutes by his fellow soldiers. He left the base, walking a ways until he was certain he was alone. Kicking and punching the dunes until his knuckles bled, he shouted at the sky and cursed his fate. A sob escaped his chest. The sand worked its way between the fibers on his arms, irritating his skin. He was certain he would be an impeccable husband, all piety aside. A burning urge to be pleasing to a woman, and the utter frustration of always being just a bit out of reach from one, grated at him. His good eye drifted heavenward towards the lavender sky. Phobos shone brilliantly. Deimos peaked just over the horizon. Modo cursed both of them, useless gods as they were. The two husbands of the Great Goddess glared back at him silently.

He wandered back to the base.

The overly bright lights of the medical ward normally caused him to avoid this area. He figured the less he stressed his remaining eye, the longer it would last. In this case, he thought it worth the risk. He found the doctor reading a lab report, the arms of her fourth husband wrapped loosely around her midsection from behind. Modo nodded at the man, whose name he couldn't recall. He nodded back. Giving his wife a small peck on the check, he retreated from the room.

“How's the new guy working out, doc?” Modo inquired once they were alone.

The ebony female smiled. “Well enough.” She sat down on a nearby chair. “He says a liiash union isn't his style, but we'll make it work.”

“Yeah. Maybe he's got the right idea. A liiash union doesn't exactly guarantee there won't be problems.”

Trace gave a reassuring smile. “My first two don't seem to mind it.”

“Everyone's got a different flow.” He reclined on a hospital bed. “What do you know about hybrids?”

“Hybrids? Why do you ask?”

Modo cleared his throat and looked away.

“Oh. It's that Earther girl. Are you two...”

“Not yet. I hope we do. She's got a temper like grandma Sprite.”

Trace smirked. “And that does it for because why?”

“Don't be like that. You don't know her.” He put an arm over his face. “I can't help it. My bro mind-walked her and she got stuck inside. Now I don't know what to do.”

“Sounds like a regular fairy tale.”

Modo groaned. “It's been anything but.”

The doctor gave her brother a long, hard look.

“I just want to know...could we? Charley and us? Or is it all just a moot point?”

Her brow furrowed at his question. “Oh Modo...”

“I think we could handle it, if it is. But, I mean...it's natural, right? I want to be the man I was taught to be. I want kids, Trace.”

She placed her clipboard on a table. “I'm no expert in human biology. I can't say yes or no for sure. Not without examining at her myself. But...”

Modo pushed himself up on his elbows and waited impatiently for her next words.

“Their media has given us some cursory information. Humans have forty-six chromosomes. We have forty. This difference will make any kind procreation extremely difficult.”

She was met with a hopeful grin.

“Difficult? But not impossible?” he breathed.

“Hybrids are tricky. You could have a thousand successfully fertilized zygotes and maybe a few of those will mature into viable fetus. And even if it does, then the main issue will be miscarriages.”

Modo cringed. Could he do that to Charley?

“It's reasonable to assume most of them would happen so early in pregnancy she would not even notice there was a pregnancy. They often have an odd number of chromosomes, as opposed to most species, who have an even number. If there is a child, most likely it will forty-three chromosomes, halfway between Mice and Humans.”

“Will it be healthy? Being different like that?”

“It's possible.” Trace conceded.

“Could...” This was so difficult to ask. “Could it have kids someday? Or would it be...?”

“Sterile?” She offered. “It depends. The problem, Modo, is that most of the time hybrids cannot produce viable gametes. Because the number is forty-three, there isn't even pairs. The extra chromosome cannot make a homologous pair at meiosis, meiosis is disrupted, and viable sperm and eggs are not formed. However, if the child is female there is a more likely chance of fertility. That's always been the paradox with hybrids. Males are universally sterile. Females have more flexibility.” She shook a finger warningly at her brother. “And don't go all religious on me about that. Good old fashioned evolution has just as much of a part to play. Life wants to survive. Even single-celled asexual organisms will fight tooth and nail to pass on their genes.” Trace sat back in her chair. “Look, this is all speculation. I have no idea how compatible Mice and Humans are. No one does. Maybe if you could convince her to come in here...”

“No.” He cut her off. “It's not...we're not really there yet. I just wanted know.”

She nodded. “You can say your prayer. It couldn't hurt. If you want to believe in all that, it might help. You know that stuff really isn't my thing. Hasn't been since we were kids.”

“You used to like it.” he grinned. “Made you feel safe knowing there was always something out there watching out for you.”

Trace shrugged. “Sure, when I didn't know there was anything else.” She took a deep breath. “You really love this girl?”

“Yeah. So much I don't even know what do. I want to have kids with her, but I don't want to hurt her either. I don't even know if we can...”

Trace raised an eyebrow. “I would worry about that. You'd be surprised how elastic some part of the female anatomy can be when aroused. It's a universal constant among mammals.”

Modo didn't look convinced. She reached out and took her brother's hand.

“I can only tell you my experience as a woman. I am no clergy. I'm not interested in the old ways beyond what is socially and biologically necessary for our race's survival. If you speak to her, calmly, patiently, and without expectation, you are more likely to get the response you're looking for. Don't push her. Just let her know where you are at.” Her fingers squeezed. “Most women, ubiquitously, just want a sense of security. Provide that, and I don't see why there should be any issue.”

Though he occasionally did not understand her complex and sprawling way of speaking, Modo took in his sister's words. His gaze swept over her sable fur. It glistened under the artificial light, shining a slightly bluish tint. How could any woman not feel secure surrounded by Cave Mice soldiers? They made sure their women were never malnourished. They were survivors, even at the worst of times.

But Charley didn't know much about that yet. She had always been the one to take care of them.

 _Patience_ , he thought. _Patience and calm._

Maybe they could do this. Maybe Charley could be the lover they all wanted.

Modo took his sister's words for all they offered to heart. He thanked her and left. As he passed through the expansive halls of the base's cave, he let his mind venture towards hopefulness. Charley would be theirs, he reassured himself. They just had to present themselves as something desirable to her, something useful. She knew they were strong. She knew they were trustworthy. Surely she had to know they would all make good husbands.

He found Throttle and Vinnie where he left them, speaking quietly in the corner. Vinnie still cradling his shoulder.

“We decided on something.” Throttle's gaze met his own. “We're backing off completely. Charley should only talk to you for the next few days. Take it as far as you like. We're leaving what happens next up to you.”

Modo huffed and crossed his arms. “I don't see why you had to talk that out. It should have been assumed that I would anyway.”

“Hey,” Vinnie spat. “We're trying to give you your space, Mouse. You don't have to be such a dick about it.”

“ _I'm_ the dick? Really?”

Vinnie started to sit up.

“Stop it! Both of you.” Throttle ordered. “That isn't going to get anyone anywhere. Modo. What do you want do about Charley next?”

Eyeing his Liiashlau, Modo dragged a chair to Throttle's side and sat down. Elbows on knees, he spoke.

“She doesn't have any idea what's going on, right? So let's just not assault her it. I'll approach her when we get back to Earth. I'll go slow. Then the four us have a talk, and answer any questions she could have. The most important thing here is that we are supportive to Charley. Everything else comes second.” He focused on Vinnie. “ _Everything_. Got it?”

Vinnie ducked his head and scowled. “Yeah. I got it.”

Modo grunted.

“Throttle, bro...” he continued. “You have got to stop being such a pessimist. I can't take it. I need you on this one, man. It's a team play.”

“Yeah...” The tan Mouse scratch the back of his ears. “I have been cautious. Not without good reason. But you're right. We do this together.” He took a deep breath as if finally accepting what she was for them. “For our girl.”

Modo firmly nodded.

“I'll bring something up to her, nothing too serious. Just a talk. Maybe a week after we get back to Earth. I think this can all still be salvageable, We're just moving the calendar up a bit. Vinnie, you're a stupid selfish bastard. But I forgive you for that and I'm gonna trust you from here on out. We all gotta take care of our girl, and you _will_ fall in line. This solo act ends. We're gonna start over. Like it didn't happen.”

Throttle gave him a sideways look. “She wouldn't know what that means, bro. For all Charley knows we could just not being giving her a say in who shows up that night. It'll make her feel powerless.”

“So we explain to her, real slow-like, if she says no or doesn't get why.” Modo answered.

“But what if...” Vinnie quietly spoke up. “I'm just saying, what if pretty early on she says she only wants me and you show up?”

Modo narrowed his eye darkly. Envy, unbidden, creeped its ugly way to the forefront of his thoughts.

“I'm being serious! What I mean is, we have an order that we work in because that's normal to us. Modo, me, then Throttle. What if that order doesn't mean anything to her? Like what Throttle said.”

Modo tossed his hands up. “I don't got all the answers. I don't know any more than you. All we can do about that is hope for the best.” He braced himself for the next part. The two of them had a right to know as much as he did, which wasn't really much to begin with. “I spoke to Trace. She gave some...I guess kinda good news. It's that thing we're all thinking about but none of us have the guts say out loud. She said might have kids with her, _maybe_. But even if we did they could only have kids if they're girls.”

There was a stillness between the three of them, lasting more than a minute, as the implications of this set in.

“So...” Throttle began. “The clan lives on through our daughters.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don't see anything wrong with that. It'd probably be for the best anyway. But any boys...”

“Would be social outcasts,” Vinnie finished. “At least as far as finding a girl. Who would what a guy who couldn't have kids?” He fidgeted in his seat. “I didn't know. Bros, I said the prayer. I asked the Goddess...I didn't what I was asking for. Oh gods...”

Witnessing the remorse of his Liiashlau, Modo felt the grip of his resentment loosen.

“We don't know what could happen,” he said, trying to comfort them. “Let's just work off the assumption that the Goddess isn't that cruel. It might never happen at all. Trace said she was mostly guessing, and the only way to know for sure would be for Charley to see her in person.”

“Guys, I don't think I can...” Vinnie covered his face with his hands. “I'm not sure if I can do this. I can't help bring a life into the universe knowing they would have to live like that!”

Throttle lay a hand on his distressed brother's shoulder.

“Mice have been living like that for decades. We've all figured out to live with less women around.”

Vinnie frantically shook his head. “It's not the same thing. For the rest of us there was always hope that we could meet a girl. What you're talking about...no girl would ever want him. And it's not like this kid could just live on Earth his whole life. He'd be alone.”

As Vinnie voiced what they were all thinking, Modo cringed. It was all he'd been thinking of when to spoke to Trace. The kind of people they would be bring into the universe, was it ethical of them to follow their own wishes without any thought of the consequences to others? His whole life he'd only ever wanted one thing: to get married, have some kids and live happily every after. But now, with the woman of his dreams before him, that fantasy seemed to be farther away than ever. He strove to take his own advice and trust his Goddess.

“Bro,” Modo spoke up. “Sometimes Earthers don't even want kids. They're got all this stuff to prevent that. It's not the same on Earth as it for us.” He rubbed a tired hand over his forehead. “I don't think it's an issue yet. The things we want...we don't know if she wants them too. We shouldn't talk too much about it without her involved.”

With eyes rimmed red, Vinnie nodded.  

“Look, I don't really know what to do here. I don't. I just think we gotta be prepared to be patient. We gotta to be okay with knowing she might say no to us. We gotta let her go if that happens.”

Throttle gave him a hard look.

“That's hasn't been your normal tune for a while now. Why are you so cool with walking away now?”

If Modo were capable of hating his brother, he might have done so in that moment. The accusation was cruel in his eyes. Instead, he snapped his head toward Throttle and bared his teeth.

“I'm not! That's the last thing I want. But this ain't about what I want. It's about her.” Modo stopped, scraping the top of his head with his long nails. “Let's just be honest here. The numbers ain't in our favor. Who knows if we'll ever even meet another girl who wants us. We've had two chances already. Maybe a lot of what happened was out of our hands, but the result was we couldn't find a way to keep 'em. The way I see it, we gotta be here for Charley, whatever happens. We gotta be something that makes her feel secure. And there's a difference between that and being overprotective. It's too easy to be the second one. So, for this, we move slow. Careful.”

“Charley already sees us 'something that makes her feel secure'.” Throttle cut in, eyes targeted at the gray Mouse.

“Bro,” Vinnie shifted in his seat, still nursing his shoulder. “I know Charley cares about us and all, but I think Modo means something a little deeper than...”

“I know what he means. And I know what Charley feels.”

Vinnie's ears quirked upwards.

“What? How do you...”

“Because, Vinnie...” Modo interrupted, meeting Throttle's gaze. “Our macho leader found himself tangled up in a mental knot. Now he can't get free without his dance partner's help. Only, she don't even know what's going on.”

Vinnie's gaze shifted cautiously from Modo to Throttle.

“No way,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “No freakin' way. Between that and Modo mooning after her for the better part if the last three years, you guys go after me because I'm the first one to make a move? That's messed up, bros.”

“Don't even start, Vinnie.” Modo warned. “Your actions were disrespectful to all of us. And Charley.”

“Fine, I admit that. But I'm not the only one here who wanted what he wasn't supposed to have yet. You two,” he pointed harshly at his brothers. “...are not being fair to me.”

On principle, he wanted to disagree, hut Modo could not deny Vinnie's logic.

“The way things are going, we may as well just marry her tomorrow. It'd be a lot less painful for everyone.”

“ _Vincent!_ ” Throttle chastised. “She is not a Mouse. We can't just treat her like one and expect her go along with it all. You want to talk about fairness? That would be the least fair thing we could do to her. It would be cruel, at best, to tell her to let go of everything she's ever been taught was normal. We need to do this gently.”

“Damn, alright already. I was joking anyways.”

“Well, don't. Not when it comes to Charley. Not now.”

Vinnie harrumphed, and did not reply.

“How long have you known?” Throttle asked Modo. “About me and Charley-girl?”

“Come on, man. I've known for a while. You think that doesn't affect us?” His stone-colored ears dropped a fraction of an inch. “I could've told you what happened, I don't know, maybe about a year after. But you weren't willing to talk and I wasn't going to push you. I figured you'd come to us when you were ready.” He glared at Vinnie, unsure why he did. “'That was the original plan.”

“Maybe,” Vinnie growled. “It's better to have things out in the open.” He threw his hands up in the air. “When have we ever tried to hide anything from each other, anyways? This is all such bullshit. _I_ was honest. I told you guys what was going on. I didn't keep it from anyone...” He looked at Throttle. “... or pussyfoot around...” Garnet eyes flickered to Modo. “I was up front and real. And my bros go off on me for it. I _won't_ admit I did anything wrong. Was it bad timing? Fine, yes. _Hell_ yes. Was I gettin' in your space, Modo? You bet your gray ass, and that was a little fucked up of me to do. But compared to you two? At least I did _something_. Better than sittin' around, moping about what I can't have. Both of you guys are guilty of that.” He slumped back, crossing his arms. “I don't care what you all say. Charley ain't the type to run away just 'cause things get a little hairy.”

Modo's antenna pitched forward as he activated the feather-light ribbon of congruity, enkindling uniformity in their thoughts.

Normally, this was Throttle's job. But Modo, sick and tired of their arguing over what should have been such a simple concept, decided to take Vinnie's advice and act on his desires. He hoped his leader would understand, and not take it as an act of challenge. Immediately Modo saw the unclenching of Vinnie's jaw, the loosening of his arms. Throttle, absent eye-contact, allowed Modo to continue without hindrance. Though, he deliberately added his own intention to the mix. A small, liquid abstraction of thought, avulsing agreement from all those who met it.

This was one of those things they would have explain to her when the time came. In their culture there were occasions when a little bit of mind control was allowed, solely among adults, and only when it had been previously agreed upon. In a liiash union, consent was implied. There was trust enough between them to make room for such things. And Vinnie...well, he had was always been the type to fall in line at the slightest touch, but left unchecked he would quickly revert back into the wild child they had known as kids. Modo and Throttle learned to recognize the signs long ago. He would start out indignant, expecting attention from anyone who could hear him speak. From there, it would only get worse. Words to be followed by actions, poor choices made in the attempt to prove everyone else wrong. So these days they stopped him at the first sign rebellion, even if he had an convincing opinion.  

With this entente firmly secured in place, Throttle retreated, mentally demanding Modo do the same. He delayed for a moment.

 _Unless you got something useful to add_ , Modo sent Vinnie. _You can keep you outbursts to yourself._

After that, they both obeyed. Modo to Throttle, and Vinnie to both of them.   

“Are we done with all that now?” Throttle spoke calmly, casually. “Are we all ready to be on the same page?” The other two nodded. “Good. Because at this point, we have a choice. We _could_ let anger and resentment just take over, and see if that makes anything better. Or we could try to be a little more understanding. None of us did this on purpose. I'm guilty of not thinking that maybe humans could be that oblivious to their own capabilities. Modo didn't think we would be running into someone so deeply compatible with his needs in the first hour we were on Earth. And what going through your head, Vincent?”

“I thought she would say no.” Vinnie hung his head. “Charley always says no. I'll do something flirty and she brushes it off and tells me it's never gonna happen. That's what she always does. But she didn't, and I lost control.”

Again, Modo felt that unwilling forgiveness creep up on him.

“Modo, I want her,” Vinnie rushed out. “I don't think I can give her up. I'll do whatever it takes to give you what you need. I just can't let her go.”

Modo sympathized with his brother, knowing that if the time came he would likely feel the same afterwards. How could either of them move on after that?

As usual, Throttle sought to hold them back.  

“Whatever happens, bro, we have to go along with what she wants. It's Charley's game. We're just the players.”

Modo scratched the back of his ears, wishing (not for the first time) the he had taken up a more unsavory habit, like smoking. He have to settle for his own self discipline to calm himself.

He decided to move forward.

“Are we all clear? Anyone got anything else they want to say?” Though neither of them said anything more, Modo could feel Throttle's hesitation. But if his bro wanted to talk about it, he would have said something. If Vinnie was paying attention, he would have noticed it too, but the white Mouse was too caught up in his own distractions to see the extent of his bros' minds. “Alright, then. We all agree, this here is my space. I'm settin' the pace for the next move. No one got a problem with that, right?” More silence. “Fine. Nothin' more to talk about then.” He crossed his arms, daring them them to continue the conversation.

Throttle nodded, stood, and left. Vinnie stayed where he was, eyes following Throttle until he was gone.

“Look,” He piped. “I really tried to be respectful. I said the prayer, I kept my distance. I really don't know what else I could have done.”  

Modo lifted an eyebrow.

“I mean, except for that.”

Modo let out a long breath, finally letting go of some of his jealously.  

“What was she like?” he dared to ask, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

“Soft.” Vinnie sighed. “So soft. All that skin, man. It's totally different. And the whole time...it was like...I don't know man, like she was a little heartbroken. The way she held on to me.” He covered his face with his hands. “I just wanted to jump in and screw the consequences. I wanted to look into her mind and fix whatever it was that was bothering her. But most of all I just wanted to hold her.”

Modo felt his breathing pause.

“Did you?”

“No. I let her do what she wanted, but I kept my distance. But damn, let me tell you, it was hard. You'll see what I mean when she comes around.”

“You think our chances are good here? Be honest, bro. Don't sugar coat it for me.”

“Yeah. I do. When has Charley-girl ever turned us away. I mean, aside from when we've broken something expensive.”

Modo chucked. “Yeah, there's that.”

Vinnie stood, slowly and carefully. “So...we good?”

“Yeah, bro.” He nodded. “We're as good as we're gonna get.”

Vinnie threw his brother a crooked smile and exited the room, noticeably limping.

After he was alone, Modo dropped his head into his hands and gave a grunt of frustration. At this point there was nothing left to do but wait. He hated waiting. He'd much rather have an experience than sit around doing nothing. But at the same time he knew Trace's advice would pay off in the long run. Patience, she had said. He would comply. He would take a risk and assume that this would work out for all of them.

There was much that he wondered on. What would she expect of him? What was reasonable in Human sexuality? He knew little more than what television had taught him and his bros, but they all knew that to be unreliable. What was found there was either an exaggeration or fantasy. Television was a parody of real life, not an example. And he doubted his limited experience with Mouse women would be of much help. He wasn't sure it would have been useful to him even if he had been courting one of his own race.

The advantage of having a sister was that most women knew other women. Thus, by his association with her, he had found himself two or three times in that place that had become so well-known and sought after by the male Cave Mice population. When a women comes to a man, demanding _'Take off your clothes, I'm lonely'_ , what could he do but obey? There was a time when Modo naively thought this was the way to attracted a mother for their small clan. His sister corrected him, explaining that these girls were typically those younger ones who usually more interested in play than marriage. It seemed to him such a shame that Vinnie never encountered one of these. Maybe the exposure would calm him down a bit. On the other hand, it might make him worse.

In any case, he knew now what he truly desired in a woman. And he would never again make that mistake.

Modo rose to his feet and left the room. He wandered through the base, finding himself in one of the larger caves where various salvaged and re-purposed ships were being worked on by the engineers. The mechanical sounds of power tools and clanking metal filled the air. He saw Charley. Her exotic eyes were as wide as the moon-gods. The technician she was speaking to explained his repairs, gesturing to various components. For a moment he couldn't help but stare. Modo truly believed everything about her was flawless.

But, as was often the case him and women, he was jolted back into harsh reality faster than he was comfortable with. Carbine was here. From her deliberate stride, pacing towards his Earther, he could see that she was taking action. To what end, he did not know. Modo wasn't sure it was his place to ask.

Before either of them could see him he ducked behind a corner, peaking his one good eye out around the edge. From his perspective he could see Carbine's eyes, glossed over and crinkled with sadness. Charley just looked confused. They didn't appear to be arguing. That was a relief. Nothing good came of women making enemies of each other. On his planet several wars had broken out that way.

“Uncle Modo!”

He jumped, whipping his head to the direction of the voice. Rimfire, cheerful as all hell, jogged toward him, a ridiculous grin plastered on his muzzle.

“Did you hear? I'm going to...what are you doing?”

He realized what he looked like, with his back and palms pressed into the wall. Modo clearly looked like he was hiding. But he was out in the open, with nothing obvious to be hiding from.

“Uh...nothing.” He crossed his arms, trying and likely failing to look casual. “What you going to do?”

“Oh! I'm going with you to Earth. I'm taking the ship back after.”

“Yeah?” Modo smirked. “Think you can make it without crashing this time?”

“Hey,” He thumped his uncle on the shoulder. “You crashed too!”

“We were shot down. Half the ship wasn't working.”

“So was I!” Rimfire rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I mean, sorta. I did what I could.”

“Yeah, yeah. Landings on Earth might be jinxed anyway.”

Rimfire laughed at that. Modo glanced back to the direction of the two women, seeing they had left. What had they spoken about? Had the conversation ended on good terms?

Rimfire tilted his head to the side before speaking again.

“Mom said you have a girlfriend. Did she mean Charley?”

Modo's thoughts were interrupted but the sly accepting grin of his nephew. Modo was not impressed, and made certain to show it on his face.

“That's not how you talk about her. You got to be more respectful.”

Rimfire waved a dismissive hand. “ _I am_. When I talk to her I use all the verbal bells and whistles.”

“Just 'cause she ain't in the room doesn't mean you just stop.” He shook a finger at the kid. “Take my advice on this kid. It's just not good enough to do the polite thing 'cause that's was expected. You gotta want to do it. It don't mean nothing, otherwise.”

“Fine.” Rimfire rolled his eyes. “Are you guys with Charley _-ma'am_?”

Modo let his gaze drift downward, focusing on the carved stone floor.

“Not...yet. It's complicated.”

“Complicated how? She didn't ask you? “

“Earth is a different kind of place, Rimfire. Guys usually do the asking.” Even as he said it, Modo was not certain how accurate that statement was.

“Oh.” Rimfire mulled that over. “So...are you going to? Ask her?”

“We're getting' there. No point in rushin' things. Our way of doing things isn't exactly normal for her.”

“What's normal then? For humans?”

Modo gave a small lopsided shrug.

“That's something I'm still learnin' myself. For now, I'm just tryin' to do right by my girl.” He folded his arms behind his head and tilted his gaze upwards. “Let me tell you something, kid. When you meet a girl, however it turns out, whatever you feel driven to do...your motivations have got to be for her. Everything else is something you find a way to work out, but your girl is your priority. You find a way to love her, and she'll find a way to respect you. We all gotta meet halfway. That's how these things work out.”

Rimfire nodded, taking his uncle's advice with the same not-quite-understanding that he took all his elders' advise.

“Well, that's good to know, I guess.” he stammered. It seemed the conversation had gotten too serious for the kid. “I gotta go meet some people. We're going to go jumping the ravines.”

Modo gives a halfhearted smile, recognizing the poor excuse for what it was. He watched his nephew trot off.  

He is unsure where to go from here. In truth, Modo felt as unsure as Rimfire looked when he gave the boy his advice. A girl was no simple simple thing. Not before the Plutarchians came, and even more so not now. She can drive a man to the edge of himself and convince him to keep going. And Modo would, happily, eagerly, if it won him her approval. That was his mission now. To be the kind of man the man that she would accept.

He pushed off the wall, pacing down the cave. They would be leaving in a few hours. Maybe he could help prepare the ship.

When he walked through the ship's doors, he was not surprised to see his bros, having just finished loading up their bikes. The low undercurrent of their consciousness' had prodded at him for the last few minutes. He knew they were somewhere close by, but did not concern himself with the details.

Vinnie grasped his bike's handle bars with gloved hands, his face covered in tension. It seemed being locked inside this box with Charley-ma'am for the next few days was not something he looked forward to. Modo resisted the urge to scoff and throw out some sarcastic comment. Didn't he want this? Wasn't this what he was trying to create?

Throttle leaned on the wall some ways away. His arms were crossed and his expression sour. Modo could guess what was bothering him. He sauntered up alongside the tawny Mouse.

“You see Carbine?”

Throttle gave Modo a hard look, kicking his heel at the floor.

“It wasn't the best. How we ended it,” He answered. “There's a lot of...unresolved _stuff_ still out there. She tried to talk to me about it. I just can't do it right now.”

“That why Vinnie's so tense? It's bleeding over?”

“In part. He's got his own stuff to deal with.”

“Yeah...” Modo leaned back a bit. “Hey!” he shouted to Vinnie. “You okay over there?”

Vinnie's eyes wouldn't meet his bros'.

“Oh, sure,” he sulked. “I'm fan-fucking-tasic. Look at the size of this thing!” He gestured outward. “How am I supposed to avoid her in this tin can?”

“Just figure it out, Vincent!” Throttle barked. “Don't talk to her. That's all you have to do.”

Witnessing his brother's rare temper was startling for Modo, and Vinnie, who cringed and spoke not another word. An angered Throttle was best to be avoided.

“Bro...” Modo hushed, placing a calming hand on Throttle's shoulder. Modo felt the tension in his torso dissipate a fraction.

Modo watched as Throttle sculpted his face into an apologetic frame, mutter something unintelligible, and leave the loading bay. The two remaining Mice could see him from their vantage point as he plopped down in one of the chairs in main control. Vinnie looked at him, and they came to a silent agreement to stay out of his way as much as possible.

Vinnie resumed strapping in their bikes. Modo dug around for busy work of his own.

Charley came aboard the ship some two or three hours later. None of them were quite ready for it. Rimfire, his bros, and Charley all settled into the control room.

Space travel fascinated her. She paid careful attention to every mundane action they took, watching over his shoulder as he began the slow process of starting the engines. She asked Throttle what he was doing as he activated the the artificial gravity, and grumpily he muttered an answer. Charley moved away from him and poked Vinnie in the shoulder, commenting on how they much have a way to prevent the hull being penetrated by micrometeors. His bro jumped and squeaked something about magnets before crossing his arms and building up a wall of defensiveness between them. Charley gave a little huff sat down in an empty chair next to Modo. He could tell she was tying to ignore their odd behavior and when they were in the air she was glued to the windows.

He did not want to look at her. Deep in his belly burned a small fire, crafted from fear and anticipation. Was this real? Was she going to accept them? Would she bear their children and grow their food, acting as their guide to this life, while they kept her safe from harm and fought off any possible enemies? Could he have the life he wanted since he was old enough to understand what that was?

He did not feel stable. Charley glanced at him, probably noticing how he kept glancing back her, none too discreetly. Stealth never was his greatest skill.

Her eyes shifted around the room quickly, before uncomfortably meeting his.

“What?” she tossed out bluntly.

“Uh...” Modo shifted back to the controls, guiding the ship from atmosphere. “Sorry. I wasn't...it's nothing.” He knew he was more obvious than he meant to be.

He should cook for her when they got back to Earth. Maybe she wouldn't see it as anymore than a small gesture of courtesy. After all, who didn't like to be brought food? In this case, though, Modo had a deliberate purpose. It was a little primitive, if he thought about it too much. But there was something to be said for giving proof to woman that she could be provided for. The traditional offering of meat and water was given often by men to the woman they meant to attract. He did not expect her to understand consciously, but his hope was that he could tap into a base primal need to be provided for that he assumed all women across the galaxy had.

He heard her snort.

“Is this the same 'nothing' that has Throttle all worked up and Vinnie so on edge? What's going on with you guys?”

“Nothing's going on.” Even he could hear the waver in his voice. “We...we're ready to get back back, you know? Who knows what stinkface has gotten up to without us there to kick his tail.”

She quirked up a disbelieving eyebrow. “Uh-huh.”

Well, his mama always did say he was a poor liar.

Charley ran her thin delicate fingers through her scalp, her eyes were fixed on the stars outside the window.. “Just...you don't have to keep things from me. I know you're all trying to protect me from something.”

His hands froze on the panel in front of him. “What makes you say that, Charley-ma'am?”

“Because it's what you always do. I'm a big girl. I can handle it, whatever it is.”

He wanted to believe her. It would be so much easier than these layers of strategy they had agreed upon. But he would not do that to her. Better to be slow. Like how his fathers taught him.

They were a set of assiduous Liiashlau who spoke with a thick Lowlander accent and insisted on following every tradition passed down to them from their own fathers. When he was old enough they told him all that would be expected of him, and he, bright-eyed and eager, was determined to show them he would be everything they required.

That was before they were vaporized by Plutarchian bombs.

He shook his head, dislodging the hateful memories. He had no desire to dwell on the most painful parts of his past.

“You, uh...you liked the take off?”

He immediately saw her light up. He may be a terrible liar, but he knew how to distract. Modo let her rattle on, guessing at the workings of the propulsion and electronic systems. He couldn't have confirmed or denied her hypothesis if wanted. Turning it on and making it go was one thing, but actually knowing how it worked? It was not in his wheelhouse. So he nodded and let her speak. Besides, it was natural for women to be so cerebral.

Over the next day, everyone went about their business. Mostly it involved trying to alleviate the boredom. Space travel was inevitably dull. Modo decided to pass his time by shining up the chrome on Little Hoss. His calloused hands didn't mind the rough polish or how it caked on his skin. He was a soldier and he didn't mind a bit of hard work. It made him feel useful. His bike beeped in appreciation as he finished up.

“Modo!”

His head snapped up at the sound of his name. Vinnie had come barreling in, his face frantic and his arms gesturing wildly.

“It wasn't on purpose, okay? I know I'm an idiot sometimes. But this wasn't what I meant to do!”

“What?” Modo stammered in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

Vinnie all but threw himself at Modo. “I didn't...I didn't mean to. You have to believe me!”

“Mean to what?”

He yanked Modo's shoulders down, causing the tips of their antenna to connect. The sudden rush of information was dizzying, made more so by the fact he was not prepared for the stream. In most cases this was a violating act, to force one's mind upon another. Even between a liiash union, when that gate was fully opened so abruptly, without any warning, it was not comfortable. A mind can be a delicate thing. It must be treated gently, with respect.

Regaining a sense of himself, separating himself from Vinnie mentally, Modo then shoved his bro off, taking sharp deep breaths. His head ached.

“W...what...” Modo tried to speak. “What did you do?”

“It wasn't on purpose! She didn't give me a choice.”

Vinnie had told her. In the worst possible way, Vinnie had explained. Or at least he had given her just enough information to be able to put the pieces together. _Oh Vinnie, what have you done? Why now? Why do you always have to have the worst possible timing?_

Modo had to think. He wanted to rage at his brother, but there wasn't time for that. Vinnie told her to talk to him. She would be coming soon. He had to prepare.

“Get out of here.”

“Modo...”

“Go away Vinnie, I don't have time for you.” His arms shook with barely restrained anger. Charley was coming and he had to be ready. He had to...he was going to cook for her when they got back to Earth. He could do that now.

Modo roughly pushed Vinnie aside. He heard the white Mouse knock into the wall and ignored it. He had to get to the kitchen. Maybe there was just enough time to re-hydrate the small valuable portion of deishou wheat, which his mother had pressed into his hands before he left. Likely for this very purpose He opened a cupboard, grabbed to two handfuls out of the bag and threw them into a pot. He splashed a bit of oil on them and left them to simmer. Opening the cold storage he saw several pieces of jiinash. One of his sister's husbands had hunted and killed the beast, offering him a cutting before they left.

_“Just a bit home, you know? Never know how long it's gonna be before you get back.”_

He had to remember to thank the man, and repay him with some similar gesture. It comforted him to be reminded that family could always be counted on.

Modo skewered the meat, placing on the rotating spit above the glowing artificial heat source. Leaving it, he returned to the deishou wheat, trying to recall what his mama had shown him to do for flavoring this food. Allowing the meat to cook only halfway, he then cut it up and tossed it in with the deishou so it soaked up the oils. He followed his mama's instructions, allowing the jiinash to simmer in with the wheat. It was just finishing when he heard her soft footsteps.

A rush of adrenaline gave him the extra push.

Modo swallowed his his fear and ventured a question.

“Hey, Charley-ma'am. You hungry?”

\- - -

There were some who found peace while staring into the vast reaches of space. Modo was never one who counted himself among them, but in this moment he found himself doing just that. He reclined on the hard bench, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be alone. Here in the hallway, he might see one of his bros or he might not. He preferred to leave that up to the Goddess. For now, he would let himself be comforted by the memories of the last few hours.

_He gently slid into her mind, unsure if she was fully consenting or not. Staying at the surface, he presented his perspective of events, allowing her to lead him._

Modo cringed. In hindsight, it was unfair of him to expect her to take control. Charley, whose world had no understanding of the effect other people could have on each other with only the slightest bit of effort, was just so unknowing of everything he had been trying to do. This was what men did on Mars. He presented himself to her, for her to accept or deny. She had already accepted them as a whole. Now he would offer himself to her individually and see where it went. Did she understand that at all? In any case, it seemed that instinct had taken over for her, because barely a moment later she was making demands of him with both her body and mind that Modo was more than happy to obey.

 _He felt her tiny hands on his great arms, nails digging into his flesh. He had always thought human nails to be quite thin, incapable of causing even the slightest pain. He knew that was untrue now, but it was nothing unbearable._    

He had never kissed a Human before. He suspected Vinnie had. They both knew what Throttle had gone through years before. The sandy Mouse had shared his memories with his bros afterwards. It had been such a raw, fearful time in their lives, back in the early days of when they first became soldiers. It was from those experiences that Modo had at least an idea of how it would work.

_Her hands slid upwards, pulling at the base of his neck. His long antenna allowed there to be a comfortable amount of space between them, if she did not desire any kind of closeness at the moment. In a display of respect, Modo had utilized this to the fullest capacity. But it seemed Charley did not require it._

He roughly palmed his face. A slight tingling spread out over his chest and shoulders. Modo felt crowded by the intensity of his own emotions. Everything he felt, everything he experienced...it was too much. More than he thought could happen yet. She was supposed to be resistant to them. Afraid or angry that they should expect so much from her. Not at all the open-hearted gentle creature he encountered.

Maybe, one day, she would allow him to create the same protection-link Throttle had with her. Then he would understand her mind.

_She sat across the table from him, wiping her hands clean. Her eyes held no fear, no judgment. Only approval. Only the promise of permission._

_“It's just...”_

_Then heard it. Hesitation. Just as he knew he would._

_“...I don't know what I'm doing here.”_

_He resisted the urge to wrap her up in his arms, to dust her face and neck with chaste kisses, to smooth her hair back from her forehead and swear to never leave her side. Knowing just how unrealistic such an oath could be to keep, he opted for something a little less severe. A vaguely familiar phrase with an equal amount of resolve. Her response had nearly been his undoing._

_“...Modo. Just be exactly what you are.”_

He had been so shocked. But should he have been so? Vinnie warned him. Vinnie saw what she would do. That was one of the most unexpected components of this situation: their short-sighted impulsive brother. He knew what they did not. He owed Vinnie an apology, as much as Vinnie had owed him one earlier.

_The feel of her around him! The pressure. He could barely stand it! Modo wasn't sure he would be able to. Charley was speaking now. Something about control? Yes, control is definitely something he should be focusing on. In his defense though, having the woman he'd been literally praying for now moving just so deliberately in his lap did not make for much self-control on his part._

_He jerked upward without permission. In that moment, it was so effortless to forgive Vinnie. He had to. To hold this grudge for one second longer would make him the ultimate hypocrite. Luckily for him, Charley was equally forgiving._

Everything Vinnie had said was just so undeniably true. She was...soft. Her skin, her expression, her hair. Modo felt like there should be a higher language for it. Far more developed than anything an uneducated soldier like him could know. But if there was, he didn't know it. All he had were formless ideas, the memories of the experience. He couldn't begin to describe it. There were things about her that were not at all like a Mouse. Things he didn't have words for.

_“Yes...I'll let you.”_

_His mind went blank. His hands were on automatic. Nothing could have stopped him from his target. But as he looked down at her lust-colored face, his damp tail twitched in agitation and he remembered. Even though he heard what his sister had said, even though he felt her stretch and adjust to him just moments before, he was still afraid. Charley was the only woman he had been intimate with that he had a chance of keeping. He could not scare her away._

_In the end, it was his fear that outmatched hers. And at her urging, he pushed forward, placing himself in her hands._

He tilted his head back, resting on the metal wall. She had begged him. When it happened, he was certain he misunderstood her. Didn't she have any idea what she did to him? Couldn't she see the command she had over him? His distracted mind could not understand why a woman would give up her power like that. What she was offering was something he'd never experienced before. And as he laid her on her back beneath him, ignoring the part of his mind that insisted he was taking what was rightfully hers, she allowed him to dominate her completely.

He did as she asked, but he'd been so baffled. In a moment of haste, and possibly poor judgment, Modo decided to act in the position she had placed him in, and seek out the answer himself.

_For a second he could feel nothing but her experience of him. This part was familiar. And yet...not so much. The softness of his fur. The warmth of his breath. Gods, her skin was sensitive. He angled though it, looking for something deeper. Some explanation to what she wanted. Through her mind he chased after the singular idea. He was frightened to find how easy this was to do to a Human._

_When he saw her opinion of her own gender he was sharply reminded of what kind of person he was dealing with. To be woman on Earth came with inherent vulnerabilities that he was not used to associating with females. She asked these things of him because that was simply her idea of normal. He could respect that. He would comply with that. Maybe, later on he would open up completely and ask for the things that would satisfy him the most. But until then his woman required him to embody strength. He was happy to do so._

Although her expectations gave him pause, he could see there truly was nothing wrong with a woman letting someone care for her in this way. Perhaps that was something his people had lost.  

_For a moment, he wondered what kind of wisdom from his mothers time might have been forgotten._

_“Is it ever difficult?” she asked. “For men, I mean. To share like this?”_

_How could he be truthful to her? How did he go about explaining the reality of their lives to her, when she was just barely beginning to let her guard down? He decided to be as honest as possible._

_“Yes,” he wanted to say. “Sometimes it is. But none of this is new for us. We know how to manage ourselves.”_

_He didn't say that, of course. He opted instead for something he thought would make more sense to her._

Modo could not believe, still, just how reasonable she had been, how fearless his Charley was. He really should have seen this coming. They had gone on so many ridiculous adventures together. When had she run or refused any danger? How many times had she been shot at, kidnapped, or dropped of a building? She was the very picture of an untrained civilian. Things like that were never anything she was prepared for. But that never stopped her. She was here, with them, arguing every time to go with them, no matter how life-threatening it was.

Maybe, being with them was easy in comparison.

_He didn't want to leave. As he sat there on the bed, trying uselessly to explain to her why he had to, he found he would rather take a page from Vinnie's book and just ignore tradition and honor. With her eyes, Charley pleaded for him to stay. He had to look away or risk losing his resolve. His space was done. His bros would expect that and he had to follow through. And, though he desperately wanted a more permanent link-up with her, he knew if he tried to create one now their small clan would be at even greater risk of falling out of balance with each other than they already were._

Why had he mind-walked with her? Twice! In hindsight, it was deeply selfish of him.

_He should not be opening his mind to her right now. It was impulsive and inconsiderate of him to do so during their first time together. If he were capable of more complex thoughts at the moment it would had occurred to him that a Mouse woman would have pushed him away, or call him an impatient child. Feelings can be heavy things, whether physical or emotional. Through his vague unfocused shame, Modo brought to the surface a single centered thought. What was the extent of what she could handle? At what point did his actions stop being enjoyable to her and start diverging into the realm of 'I don't want to do that again'. He had to admit he did not yet know if she could handle the full weight of what he felt for her._

_The scent of a Human was never something he thought about. Their race had a fairly mild odor that never pulled his attention one way or the other. But in that moment her smell drove him to the edge of reason. Her wispy redolence was as distracting as it was enticing._

_He broke the connection before it became too strong._

If she understood, would she be angry at him? He lost control, just like Vinnie, and dug himself deep into a hole that shouldn't have been allowed to exist. Modo crossed his arms and shivered. Whether it was from cold or shame, he did not know. He would have to confess to her what he did wrong. Maybe he would have to explain why it was wrong to her. Maybe she would think he was silly for for even caring. But that was irrelevant. He made a selfish choice and had to admit it to the one he wronged. Even if she didn't understand it.

_His knuckles slid against the skin of her thighs as he yanked down her pants. A bright, painful burst of lust overtook him, and he desperately wanted her scent all over him. He wanted the universe to know that he was hers. Where better to start then that divine place where all life begins? Like her, he was moved by instinct alone. Grasping and clawing at his own soul, as well as her garments, he moved with the prowess of a starving animal. He swallowed the sacred taste of her. He scratched his buck teeth at her alarmingly small nub. His fingers could almost wrap around her thighs completely, so great was the size difference between them._

_His woman was everything he'd dreamed she would be. As she gasped and struggled to free herself from his grip, Modo only pressed his tongue deeper, curious to see how far he could reach. He could barely hold in his glee as his tail snaked up her leg. He heard his name whispered on her lips..._

Oh gods, Charley. Modo feared he could have no restraint with her, but there was a protocol to follow. A code of conduct he people had followed since civilization began. Her time between the three of them should be balanced. This had to be respected. He knew this. And he wanted his bros to be happy. But this woman, who had somehow both crept and bulldozed her way into his life, had caused him to question himself on so many levels.

His wrists ached. He looked down and realized he'd been clenching the edge of the bench so hard he neatly pressed small finger-shaped dents into the edges. Taking a deep breath, he let go. There would always been a need for self-control, he reasoned.

_She did not feel like anything he was familiar with. He did not know how to describe it. Only that the experience of her was beyond anything that he expected._

_“...please touch me.”_

_He hesitated at her command, of course. But it did not matter. He would accommodate her needs, regardless. It would appear she needed him to forget his restraint. Maybe it was a Human thing, he guessed. Because if she were a Mouse, she would have likely demanded he only show more. His people's women were often controlling that way._

There was so much he did not know what to make of her, so many things he needed to ask. The next time they were alone together he would have to open up this line of communication between them. He truly did love her. And like he said to his brothers, they would have to find a way to keep her. How could he provide for, or be something reassuring to, what he did not understand? That would be his next move, he decided, in the fragile raw cocoon of a life they would make for her. It was so essential that everyone just understand each other!

Modo felt a sharp rupture of anger, caustic and abrupt. He closed his eyes, realizing this emotion was not his. Separation was the key. It couldn't touch him so hard if he kept it compartmentalized. He clenched his jaw and followed that ribbon, seeing where it led.

Throttle's customary warmth was not present, having been replaced by this torrent of emotion. His bro was not alone. Modo could sense the subtle glow that accompanied one of his triad whenever they spoke with another. He was with...Charley? And that anger he felt...Throttle directed it at himself. He discarded idea of tracking them down and intervening. They needed to talk just as much as anyone did. Him interfering wouldn't help anything.

“...hey.”

Modo jumped. He felt a bit childish when he saw who it was. Vinnie sat down on the bench next to him.

“How you doing, bro?”

Modo shrugged, slightly annoyed at the white Mouse for intruding. Sometimes a guy just needed time to himself to work shit out. Did Vinnie even notice Throttle just now? Or was he completely oblivious?

Vinnie reclined back, folding one arm behind his head.

“You think Throttle's okay?”

Well, it was good to know Vinnie paid attention sometimes. Vinnie gave him a sideways look, clearly having sensed his frustration.

“We'll find out, I guess.” Modo slouched against the cold metal wall behind him. “I'm not getting in on whatever they're talking about. Not unless I see a good reason. A bit of emotion is something we expected. If Throttle wants us there, he'll let us know.”

“Yeah, but...” Vinnie focused on the metallic floor, textured for traction. “What if she does? What if Charley's not ready for that talk?”

Modo cringed inwardly. He hadn't considered that. There was no way to know, he surmised. He exhaled. They could only trust Throttle, let him decide if they were needed. He had a protection-link with her, even if it was not consensual. It was a thing that was once an ancient custom among their kind, but had fallen out of use until the Plutarchians came. Throttle would know what she needed. They could rely on that. At least he hoped they could. As long as Throttle's fears didn't get in the way of what could be a perfectly good start to a relationship.

“We'll just have to wait and see.” His mind flashed back to Charley, when she had lain beneath him.

_Her smooth arms slipped around his neck. The gentle scent of her threatened to overwhelm him. His instincts demanded more, but the logical part of him knew it was not time for that yet. They needed time to ease into each other. Only then could he even think of showing her the true extent of a Mouse's stamina._

_“Am I being disrespectful?”_

_He couldn't help but laugh at that. If she only knew! Her respect was hardly the issue. Not with his resolve threatening to crumble every time he looked at her. In all fairness, though, it wasn't as if she had all the assumptions he and his bros had. They were the products of a society that had developed this relationship structure as a coping technique for the rough unpredictabilities of a dangerous life. Her people wouldn't see what he saw. When she sat in his lap and begged him to touch her, she had no idea what that meant to him. How could she? Charley didn't know how hard it was for him. These things needed to be done slowly. People should not just let themselves go, to act on whatever urges they had. A lasting relationship allowed for the time to explore and let trust develop. He had already done the quick-tumble thing with other girls. He knew what it felt like to open his heart and then be forgotten later on. That wasn't what he was looking for here._

_Modo knew it was irrational and probably never going to happen, but he wanted things to be perfect with her. He wanted to be perfect for her. And he knew he had to start by keeping an open mind to her lack of understanding. She had pushed him a little. In any other circumstance that would be disrespectful. But she had no way of knowing that. She had no experience to draw from that would explain to her just why what she did was unfair to him. So he let it go. It was a small misunderstanding, at best. He'd rather have a flawed Charley than no Charley at all._

_“Not really,” he lied, hoping she didn't notice. “But you certainly like to push the boundaries.” He allowed a sliver of truth to leak through._

“...you were right. About Charley-ma'am.” He felt Vinnie's eyes, could sense in the back of his mind the attention his Liiashlau paid him. “I...I tried to hold back. And I wasn't very good at it.”

Vinnie chuckled. “You totally banged her, didn't you?”

As if he didn't know that already! For all that Modo had convinced himself that a civil sit-down needed to happen with him and Vincent, he was ready to give that adolescent another beating.

“That's disgusting! I didn't...bang her. I...” His voice caught in his throat. These were words not easy to say. It was more than admitting a misjudgment. This was a confession. Just as Vinnie came to his brothers and confessed what he had done, knowing full well what the result would be, Modo had to do the same. This was how trust must manifest in a Cave Mice clan, or they would be lost and their family dissolved. He seen it happen before. All of the pressures of the outside universe would come creeping in, and they couldn't be honest with each other, then slowly mistrust would arise. “I held her in my arms.” Modo felt the slight sting of his thick nails pressing into his palms. “And I let her do what she wanted. I touched her when she asked me to.” His eye closed. “...I tasted everything she had to offer and I did it without asking.”

“Modo...” Vinnie paused, understand the seriousness of what his brother was saying.

“It wasn't...it wasn't completely perfect. I think we both had these moments where we didn't get at all what the other person wanted or meant. But it was...good. As good as I think it could have been. And when it was done, I walked away. Everything inside was screaming to stay there with her. Spend the rest of this trip inside her, I didn't want to stop for nothing.” He shuddered as his head jerked up, his wild eye startling Vinnie. “I can't let her go either. I don't know if you got that from me or if you developed it on your own.”

“Yeah. I get it, man.” Vinnie kicked his legs out and stretched. “Maybe more likely you got that from me.” He smirked. “Who knew you'd be the one without the self-control, huh?”

“I get what you meant earlier. She doesn't really say say no. Maybe it's just the way Humans are.”

What Throttle had suggested months ago flashed in Modo memory.

_“You want to take someone from that kind of background and put them in a place where they have all this expectation to be a decisive clan leader?”_

This was a fear of his he wasn't ready to acknowledge yet. It was possible it was a baseless fear to begin with. Outside of sex, she hadn't shown any submissive habits to them. When she wanted something, she told them. Charley expected them to follow through when there was an action that needed to take place.

Vinnie elbowed him in the ribs.

“Stop worrying, bro. She ain't gonna bail.”

“That's not...I wasn't thinking of that. I mean...what if she doesn't want to be the boss?

“How is that even an issue? Charley's been the boss this whole time. It's her garage. She's the one who fixes our bikes, makes all the money. She cooks for us almost everyday. We wouldn't even have furniture at the 'board if it wasn't for her. When's the last time you have to wash your own clothes?” He looked out the window, at all the distant stars. “We took advantage of her. It wasn't right. But it ain't like she just rolled over and did it. She can be damn scary when she wants to be. I don't think we got to be too concerned with that.”

_Modo nodded halfheartedly. He wanted to believe Vinnie, but it was a struggle._

_He touched her face with a hand that he hoped wasn't as shaky as he felt._

_“Is this okay?” He wasn't sure he could handle the answer. “It's not too much too fast, is it?”_

_When she looked at him next there was a brief moment when he thought he had just made a terrible decision. She appeared reluctant, much like those other girls whenever he had asked to see them again. It was a subtle expression, just a shade below wanting to dart out the door before more conversation was to be had. Because this is what they always were. Women were happy to receive whatever was given to them, but to give back was often out of their comfort zone. She too, it seemed, would reject him._

_“No, it's okay.”_

_What? He had to have misheard her._

_“...just a little different than what I'm used to.”_

_He felt something break inside him. A part of his fears shattered with relief._

_“This is a good thing.”_

_She leaned into him, kissing him thoroughly. She was accepting him! He responded instinctively. With his arms around her, he spoke without thought. A question with no reservation._

_“I want to be with you...”_

Modo shifted uncomfortably.

“How do you find it so easy to be so optimistic? You don't know any of this will turn out.”

“No, I don't.” Vinnie grinned, shaking his head. “But I know what kind of person Charley is. I'm not worried because I don't think I have to be. Besides, it's not going to help anything if I do. Why stress out over what I can't change?”

It was a surprisingly pragmatic attitude, not at all Vinnie's usual position. Modo knew there was something deeper happening here. He could have dug it out, forcing it out of Vinnie. Modo owed him after that stunt he pulled earlier, forcing a physical connection between them.

It was probably better to let that go. A grudge against one of his bros never helped anyone. Throttle was right about that.

“This...this'll work out, right?” Modo haltingly asked.

Though Vinnie's face showed nothing, Modo _knew_ he could feel a flicker of uncertainty popping up from the background of his brother's mind.

“It'll work out,” Vinnie easily affirmed.  

Modo nodded, slowly, acceptingly.

\- - -

A day later, they were back on Earth. After an awkward farewell to Modo's nephew, they were left standing in the field next to their bikes, groping for words.

What Charley did next was probably one of the more attractive actions she could have taken. Throttle tried to speak. To what end Modo did not know. But he made an attempt and Charley took control, reminding them of an earlier promise extracted from Throttle and making her needs clear. Even when Vinnie slipped back into his thoughtless flirty self, she put him in his place, and caused him to obey. It was beautiful.

Although, yet again it was Vinnie she rode with. Modo could let it go this time, but he made a mental note to ensure that next time she would be behind him on Little Hoss.

After the two of them sped off, he and Throttle looked and each other and shuffled off to the board.

Modo plopped down on the couch and tossed a hopeful look to his bro. “What'd you think, man?”

Throttle was thoughtful, taking his time in answering.

“I think...” He busied his hands with organizing a box of drill bits that Charley had left there. “...that we're going to have it pretty good. Might not be an overnight thing, but we're on our way. We picked a great girl.” He picked up a rag, wiping the grease off his fingers. “It's kind of strange, though. That she didn't pick us.”

Modo shrugged. “She wouldn't have, bro. It ain't in her...I guess 'social vocabulary' is a good phrase to use here.”

Throttle raised his eyebrows and threw Modo a cocky grin. “That's some big words, man. You sure know what they all mean?”

Modo tossed a couch cushion at him. Throttle laughed as he ducked out of the way, then scooped up the cushion and sat down on the couch, narrowing his eyes in thought. For a passing moment Modo wondered why Karbuncle bothered to mimic the red irises that all male Mice had, when he replaced Throttle's eyes. He focused on them through the green sheen of Throttle's glasses.

“I told her we could teach her.”

Modo was yanked out of his thoughts. “Teach her what?'

Throttle ran his fingers through his mane. “She could be same as us. She could connected with us. I told her we'd teach her that.”

That was an interesting proposition. Theoretically it was possible. As children, all Cave Mice are taught that any living being with a nervous system evolved enough to produce sentience would also be capable of telepathic ability. There were varying degrees of ability, of course, but the basic neurological components were always present. And while he hadn't heard of anyone trying to teach an alien Martian style telepathy, that didn't mean it had never happened.

“Do you think we can? How would that even work?”

“I...” Throttle let out a long controlled sigh. “I'm not sure, but it can't be much different than when we were kids.”

“Throttle...our parents' would mindwalk and link up with us when we were infants. Some of the things we know we learned before we could walk.”

Throttle gave him a sideways glance. “Now who's being a pessimist?”

Modo held up his hands in defense.” “Okay. Fine. I'm just saying, bro. It won't be easy. How would you even relearn how to think? Because that's basically what she would be doing.”

Throttle looked down at his hands. “I don't know. But do you really want to be with someone who doesn't know how to link up with us?”

Modo shrugged. “I made my peace with that a long time ago. Honestly man, I don't even care anymore. I got more with Charley now than I ever thought I would. I'm good with this.”

Throttle thoughtfully mulled this over. After a moment he shook his head, clearly amused. “You ever wonder, Modo, if we would be this desperate if there were just more women around?”

“Nah, man. I don't want women. I just want her.”

“Yeah.” Throttle smirked. “I get that.”

Cautiously, Modo ventured a question. “Is that what you felt with Carbine?”

The humor left Throttle's face.

“Look, it's just...you never really let us in what was happening there. I don't know how you did it, but that was some kind of crazy strong wall you built up.”

Throttle didn't respond.

“Bro?”

Throttle stood up, pacing deliberately to the bedroom.

“Bro! Hey, wait!”

Throttle stopped. Turning his head, he spoke. “Later, okay? I'll tell you both everything. Just...not yet. I'm not ready for that yet.”

Modo felt his shoulders drop.

“Uh...yeah, okay.”

Throttle gave a short curt nod, walked into the bedroom and closed the door a little harder than necessary.

What was that about? He could understand if Throttle was feeling a bit sensitive about Carbine, but he'd rarely seen Throttle just get up and leave with no explanation. When it came to Carbine, his bro nearly always had a habit of secrecy. Modo didn't know where it came from. She was the only topic Throttle would not open up about. For whatever reason he had decided it was a taboo. But if Throttle said he would talk about it, he would talk about it. It would be in his own time, sure, but that was to be expected. One did not rush the alpha type of guy that Throttle clearly was.

Sighing, Modo picked up the TV remote and flipped the channels, eagerly seeking out a distraction. After some time had passed he heard the distinctive electronic whorl of Vinnie's bike. Loudly his bro burst in the door.

“Modo! Bro!” he announced with his arms outstretched. “Do you even know how fucking epic today is?”

“I can imagine you think so. What happened?”

Vinnie had the widest, stupidest grin Modo had ever seen on him. “First, I in was trouble. She didn't lay into me to bad, but I could tell that she wanted to. Then we started kissing and, man, it was perfect. I can't wait until I have her for a whole night to myself. No more of this holding back, you know?”

“That's up to Charley. Anyway, I wouldn't get too crazy right now. Throttle's in a funk about something.”

“Why? What could he possibly be upset about? Now, of all times? We should drag him out here.”

“No, Vinnie, wait!”

“Hey, Throttle!” Vinnie got up, making his way over to the bedroom door. “Come out of there, Mouse! We gotta celebrate!”

“Vinnie, leave him alone. Throttle's not in the mood.”

“How could he not be in the mood? Do you guys even realized what happened today? We have a girlfriend! Us! All of us, together. What better reason could we have to get happy? We should get some drinks. Come on out, Throttle! We need beer!”

“Vinnie! Stop! Just trust me on this, okay? It's not a good time.”

“Huh?” Vinnie stopped, finally, and turned around to face Modo. “Why not?”

“I don't know, man. Just give him some space, okay?”

“...yeah, sure.” Vinnie moved over to the small mini-fridge against the wall, and took out three bottles of Zombie Dust. Charley had got them hooked on the stuff after they first landed, and while it didn't quite have the same gentle tang of the distilled dougu tubers they drank on Mars, they found beer to be pleasant enough.

Modo took the offered bottle and Vinnie placed the third on table near where they sat, should Throttle change his mind.

“What happened with you two at the garage?”

Vinnie took a gulp and smiled. “You remember that stuff I said about Charlie sticking around no matter what?”

Modo raised an eyebrow. “I remember you doubting your own words and refusing to say it out loud.”

Vinnie ignored him. “She wants me, bro. I just know it.” He raised his bottle in the air. “Gotta tell you bro, there ain't no better feeling in the world than knowing your girl wants you.” He took a drink. “And Charley wants me bad. She had this look in her eyes. And just so you know, I really do get that girls need their own space too, but I think she had to push a bit more than she wanted to make that for herself. I think she was conflicted.”

“You sure about that.”

“Yes.” Vinnie spoke firmly, with none of the barely hidden hesitation he had only a day ago. “Didn't she seem that way to you, when you were together?”

“I...”

Did she? There was so much about that experience he still hadn't fully processed. But there that small part of her he couldn't help but see as he waded through her mind. The part that whispered to him that she was clearly lost between wanting to indulge herself and follow the rules she was taught. At the end of the day, for her at least, there might always be the caveat that most humans did not always have a lot of respect for women who had multiple lovers.

“I'm not sure.”

Vinnie watched him eagerly.

“I suppose...she didn't want me to leave. I knew I had to. But she was clearly uncomfortable with it. Is that the kind of thing you mean?”

“Yes! That's exactly what I mean! Bro, don't you get it? She wants us. So stop second guessing yourself and just enjoy it.” He took a deep swig of his drink.

Modo found himself nodding along to Vinnie's suggestion. After all, his bro did have a point.

The conversation petered off, dissolving into a wash of ridiculous television scenarios Vinnie thought likely to happen in real life. Modo gently reminded him of the definition of 'fiction' through the use of his empty beer bottle and a cricket bat, Where they had gotten the cricket bat, neither of them could remember.

Over the next few days, they fell back into their pattern of scheduled patrols around Limburger Tower. No activity was detectable from their observation. Clearly the fish and his lackeys were still licking their wounds after their defeat on Mars. While the Mice were grateful there were no threats to Chicago to worry about, at the same time, they would have welcomed the action. After the past week, they were begging for distraction. With none to be had they were beginning to go a touch stir-crazy.

Finally, after two days Modo and Vinnie were relieved to see Throttle holding up the cheap throw-away flip-phone Charley had gotten each of them for emergencies.

“She called me,” he stated simply. “She wants us to come over.”

Modo popped up from their lethargic gaming on the couch, darting over to their bikes.

“What are we waiting for? Let's ride!” Vinnie revved his engine.

“Hey, you know we got to be careful about this,” Modo cautioned. “There's still a chance she's not totally comfortable yet.”

“Which one of us saw her last?” Vinnie countered. “Charley is cool with us, bros. And that's why she wants to talk to us now. So let's get going!”

Modo sighed, and looked at Throttle.

“How did she sound?”

Throttle shrugged. “Just asked us to come over. Said she cooked a full spread.”

“Food!” Vinnie shouted. “More reason to get a move on!” Vinnie was out the door, tearing down the street before either of them could stop him.

“We going to let him win?” Modo smirked.

_“Hell no!”_

They followed, and passed Vinnie to the Last Chance Garage.

\- - -

She was sitting in her kitchen expectantly, surrounded by the starchy foods she knew they loved, as well as a large baked ham.  
`  
As soon as Vinnie saw her, he scooped her up into his arms and twirled her in the air.

“Charley-girl!”

“Okay, okay! Put me down.” Charley was less than pleased.

He complied, much to his bros' relief. But not before leaning his head into her neck and taking a long deep breath. She pushed him off of her.

“Look, there's dinner. Go eat something.”

Vinnie dove for the prepared meal with as much eagerness as dove for her, scooping up a plate and shoveling more food onto it than necessary. Throttle followed behind, albeit with far more tempered reservation than his bro. Modo did the same.

After they had all gotten their plates, they sat down to eat. Charley hardly touched her own food. Modo could feel her eyes on them, watching as a scientist watches an experiment, coldly waiting for an outcome that matches or disproves a hypothesis. She was silent for so long he wondered if she would speak at all.

Finally he heard her voice.

“Is this what things are supposed to look like?”

The guys looked at each other.

“What do you mean?” Throttle ventured.

“This!” She gestured to the table. “I make you all food, then you go out and fight the bad guys. Then when you come back I patch you and your bikes up. Then tomorrow we do it all again. Is that normal?”

“Charley...” Throttle soothed. He reached out and took her hand “What's normal is that we all take care of each other. We'll fight for you, and we'll fight for your world.”

“But we've been doing this already for so long! Did it mean anything to you guys before? Was it ever something you had to deal with?”

“Stoker thought we were together,” Vinnie said. “Once, a long time ago. I mean...to anyone else from Mars, that's what it looked like.”

She seemed to take that in carefully, nodding. “Was it...ever hard for any of you? Living like that, with me totally oblivious to it all?”

Modo exhaled. “Don't worry about that. It's all in the past.”

“Not to me. This is all fresh new information. I have no idea what any of it was like for you guys.”

“We...had some rough days.” Modo answered. “Nothing we couldn't handle.”

A compassionate look crossed her face, sprinkled with the barest amount of guilt.

“It wasn't anything you could have helped, Charley-girl.” Throttle comforted. “It was just something we all had to go through.”

Modo saw more than felt her squeeze his hand.

“I'm being obvious again, aren't I?”

Throttle smiled in response.

Seeming to relax, she let go of his hand.

“So...I've got some grown-up questions I need to ask.” Charley leaned back in her chair. “How does this work, logistically? I mean...what exactly do you all expect of me?”

There was a moment of silence.

“Well...” Throttle answered. “What do you expect of us? I know, that seems like a cop out answer. But Charley-girl, you gotta understand, from our point of view that's the more important question. We're going to let you be the boss here.”

She had stopped eating completely at this point. Modo watched as she gave them every ounce of attention she had.

“I appreciate that. But you've got to understand. I don't have a social model to work off of.” Charley placed both her hands flat on the table, squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a deep breath. “I don't necessarily know how to react in a healthy way in a group relationship. Just tell me,” She looked up. “What was normal when you were growing up? What did a functional family look like to you guys?”

“Before the Plutarchians, you mean?” Throttle asked.

“Yes, before them.”

“Alright...in the old days, if you didn't live in the city, you wanted a big a family. A clan could be huge. Extended family always lived together. We keep track of how who is related to who by our mothers. Everyone knows who their mother is. A woman would have a number of husband or lovers. There's no rules on that sort of thing.”

“Husbands or lovers? Meaning...either? At the same time? Or would they have one or the other?'

“Not exactly,” Throttle continued. “I say it that way because in our language they aren't mutually exclusive concepts. We don't typically make lifetime vows the way you do here on Earth. People stay with each other for life most of the time. But it's usually implied rather than directly stated.”

“So what you're saying is that by your standards we are basically married?” She did not sound happy at that.

“No, Charley.” Modo interrupted. “What we're saying is that by our standards, being married or not, they aren't two separate things. Either you're with someone or you're not. There's paperwork about it, no laws like the way you all do. You're just...together. We don't make a big to-do about it all like the way a wedding is done here. People were mostly thinking about survival. It was normally that you found someone and you stayed with them. They weren't usually casual about being close with someone.” He scratched the back of his head. “I mean...they were. But that was in the cities. Things were different there. We never really lived in places like that.”

She tapped her nails on the table. “So...if I use the word 'boyfriend' or the word 'husband'...”

“In the language we grew up speaking we don't have two different words. It's all the same.”

“Alright.” Charley said cautiously. “But what about...” she whipped her hand around in a circular motion, gesturing to all of them. “Us. How do we...not get in each others way?”

“Babe,” Vinnie chuckled. “I think you call them 'kindergarten rules' around here.”

She looked at him blankly.

“You know,” he continued. “Say please and thank you. _Take turns?_ ”

There was a visible shade of red emanating from her cheeks as she looked down and away.

“Aw, babe,” Vinnie tilted his head. “Ain't nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I'm not! I'm just...this is a little strange to me still, okay?” She closed her eyes. “Are girls on Mars ever uncomfortable with sex?”

“I've never seen that happen.” Modo explained. “Where we grew up, women are expected to be powerfully sexual people. So much more than men. I don't think that's a species thing, so much as it is just the way we do things Mars.”

“A cultural thing? Having nothing to do with biology?”

“Yeah. The way we see it, you can't have life without women. They do most of the work when it comes to kids. So we give them most of the respect.”

She made a face. “Do you expect _me_ to have to kids?”

Modo felt himself freeze, and tried to hide it.

“Only if you do, Charley,” he responded softly.

She nodded at that, and let it go.   

“So we take turns. Like a schedule? I hate to throw a reality wrench in this machine, but that doesn't sound like any fun.”

“It's not like that, babe.” Vinnie reassured. “Whatever happens is up to you. If I show up and all you want to do is watch a movie, that's cool too. Besides...”

“Guys don't want sex all the time, Charley-ma'am,” Modo finished. “We see that a lot around here. Humans assume that so much. But I can tell you from first hand experience that's just not true. We all care about you so much, and we're probably never going to want to say no you.” He smiled warmly. “But it isn't a constant thought like the media around here puts it. We think about other things too.”

“Oh yeah?” she smirked. “Like what?”

“Food!”

“Takin' down stinkfish butt!”

“Sewing.”

All eyes at the table turned to Modo.

“What?” He barked, gesturing to his bros' clothing. “You think those hole in your jeans patch themselves up? If weren't for me we would have run out of clothes a long time ago. I don't about the rest of you, but I'd rather have pants on while I'm taking down Plutarchians.”

Throttle and Vinnie looked at each other, while Charley stifled a giggle.

“Fair enough, bro,” Vinnie conceded. “Anyway, babe, you don't to got worry about a schedule. We've already got that figured out.”

Her smile disappeared. “Don't I get a say in that?”

“Of course you do, Charley-girl,” Throttle soothed. That's just for our benefit. To keep things balanced. It's helpful, but if it doesn't work for you, all you gotta do is say so.”

Charley responded sharply. “Okay, fine. What is your schedule?”

“Modo, Vinnie, and me. In that order.”

She took a deep breath. “We'll...try that out, I guess. So that starts with you, Modo? Because that hasn't been the order so far...”

“No. You're right. It hasn't.” Modo confessed. “It's been a crazy mess. We'd like to start over. Could I stay with you tonight, Charley-ma'am?”

She appeared to want to say no. Clearly she was holding herself back. Was she afraid of offending them, Modo wondered?

“How about...tomorrow. We start this whole thing then, okay?”

“Yes,” Modo breathed. “I swear I'm going to make you so happy.”

He hoped he imagined her reluctance to accept his enthusiasm.

“There's something you've got to know,” Throttle spoke up. “Something that's going to change around here. It has to do with how we fight. It's an old tradition, you see. A long time ago, and sometimes even now, it was normal for most of the guys in a clan to leave every couple weeks. They'd go hunting or patrolling. Things like that for the clan. But there was a rule. When this happened every woman would keep one of her husbands at home. She would never be left defenseless. We got to start doing that for you too.”

“Oh, guys. Come on,” she huffed, her eyes narrowed in frustration. “That's ridiculous. I can take care of myself. You all know that. You've seen me do it! How many times have I busted you out of a tight spot?”

“It ain't about that, Charley-girl. We know you're tough. Point is you shouldn't have to be. One of us is going to start staying behind with you.”

“But won't that just mess you guys up? How long have you been fighting together? It's always all three of you.”

“...not always.”

“Enough of the time that is your normal. You start doing this it will just mess you up. Throttle, how many of your of those moves you have all the crazy names for do you need all three of you?”

Throttle didn't respond.

“You see? That just isn't an option. Look, I promise I'll keep my bazooka handy whenever you go out. But this isn't Mars. It's a very different environment with very different needs. You can't just have a blanket response to every dangerous place I might be in. That's unfair.”

“Charley...”

“Look,” she conceded. “I get where you're coming from. But let's just respond to every situation as that individual situation requires. ”   

Modo could feel the moment when Throttle gave in. It was like a spring stretched out to its limit, then, carefully released and allowed to coil back into shape.

“We'll let this go for now,” Throttle said. “But things can't stay the way they are. Things between us have changed. This part has to change too.”

Charley nodded, but Modo doubted she would let Throttle win. It was going to be an uphill battle, same as it always was with her.

Charley moved on. “Back on Mars, when Carbine spoke to me...well, she acted like she was sick of it. Dealing with people with saw her as the boss all the time.” She leaned back in her chair. “ Am I really the boss here? And do I have to be? Why can't we all just be, you know, equal?”

For all that he cared about Charley, that statement struck Modo as just bizarre. Wouldn't she want to be in control? Isn't that what women did?

 _Not always. Not on Earth_ , he had to remind himself.

“Ah...I mean...” he flailed for an answer. “That's not really...”

Throttle stepped in. “Ain't a tradition that we're used to,” he carefully explained.

“None of this is a tradition I'm used too!” Charley tossed her hands in the air.

Throttle nodded. “Yeah. It's not exactly going to be normal for any of us. What do you need, Charley? How can we make this more comfortable for you?”

Modo recognized that gentle placative tone Throttle always used dealing with someone he didn't want to scare off.

“I don't want to to make all the decisions all the time. If something comes up, can't we just talk about it? Where I grew up when people are together it's supposed to be a partnership. I don't know how much of a hierarchy I can handle.”

Charley wanted fairness. It was, he had to admit, such a reasonable thing to ask for. But did her definition of fair match theirs? Where exactly was that line drawn?

Modo spoke up. “You know, when I was kid, my dads told me that everyone gets frustrated in the beginning. We all want everything when it first starts. But no one can be a family by themselves. You gotta live with other people and we all depend on each other. So they told me you have to go really slow. I didn't know what they meant then.” He looked at his bros. “It don't seem to me that this is unusual. We all got to find what the flow here is. Just 'cause something worked for another clan don't mean it's going to work for us. Just look at Trace.”

“Who?” Charley asked.

“Modo's sister,” Vinnie chimed in. “She's got four guys. Two of them are like us, with our kind of link. But the other two? They just kind of hang out, I guess.”

Her brow wrinkled in thought. “Does...that link...it happens more than with just guys, right? Or are there rules about that kind of thing?”

“Not rules. Not really.” Vinnie continued. “Not about how we all link up, anyways. That would be...weirdly controlling. Sounds like something a Plutarchian would do.” He shook his head. “It's just...it all works better when families are shaped this way. It's easier. But there ain't no rules. Everyone's got a different flow.”

“Would that happen between a guy and girl?”

“Not if they were together. Siblings sometimes. When that happens most people assume of them is gay, or just doesn't care about those details. It's kind of a generalization. Sorta childish, really. Thing is, with a liiash union, like us, those people usually end up dating the same person. But for someone you're with, there are other kinds of links to create. Better ones of for that kind of situation. 'Cause, you know, there's different emotions happening there. So people need to be pulled in different directions.”

“So...all forms of polyamory are pretty much normal, have I got that right?”

“Basically.” Throttle shrugged. “Within reason that is.”

They had all long since stopped eating. Modo hadn't even noticed. Vinnie's plate had nearly been licked clean and Throttle had taken a few bites, pushing his food around more than consuming it.  

“Bigger families meant a better chance of survival.” Throttle went on. “There were sometimes when keeping a woman with child alive through the winter was impossibly difficult. There wasn't always enough food. In a large group everyone has different kinds of links with each other, but we can all feel it. A lost young life hurts everyone. Charley, everything we do evolved from a standpoint of continuing the family. We don't even have clan names because there once people who have tried to wipe out groups of Mice based on their lineage. We don't talk about blood ties to anyone if it doesn't involve our mother, and only because it's disrespectful to deny who your mother is. But even within that, you don't go around telling strangers who your family is. We get very cautious, because there's always been a reason to be.” His eyes peeked out over the rim of his glasses. “Big families mean safety. What you call 'polyamory' was always the fastest way to grow a family.

There was a softness on Charlley's face he hadn't seen until now. Modo hoped more than anything it meant she was beginning to understand.

“I may have been judging you all a bit harshly. It was only because I didn't get it. I'm going to be better from now on.” Her eyes flickered to Vinnie's plate. “Feel free to get more if you're still hungry.”

He flashed her a stunning grin before launching himself over to the stove.

“Is this what I have to look forward to?” She seemed to speak more to herself than him and Throttle. “A lifetime of the bottomless pit that is Vinnie's stomach?”

“You'll manage, babe.” The side of Throttle's mouth quirked up. “We won't abandon you, no matter how much he eats.”

She chuckled, and Modo savored the sound.

“Do you not want any of this?” She gestured to Throttle's nearly untouched plate. “I could make you something else...”

“Nah, don't worry about it. Ain't your cooking, Charley-girl. Guess I'm just not hungry.”

Her eyes narrowed. There was no malice in her gaze. Just a search for the root of his self-restriction.

“I'll tell you about it some other time.” he explained, pushing his chair back and standing up. “Thanks for dinner, babe. We should get going.”

There was clearly some sort of silent conversation happening between Charley and Throttle. The tan Mouse seemed to sensed from her a need for solitude and she responded with something like relief. Modo wanted desperately to know what was going on.

“Wrap it up Vinnie, we're heading out.”

“Aww! I'm not done eating yet.”

“You know where the cling-wrap is,” Charley called out. “Take it with you. Just try not to break the dish, okay?”

“En a minuh!” Vinnie was shoveling food into his mouth in a desperate attempt eat as much as possible before they left.

“Oh for God's sa...Vinnie! Just let me wrap that up for you.” She stood, made her way over to him, and all but yanked the plate from Vinnie's hands.

Throttle turned to Modo. “Say what you gotta say, but follow her lead.”  

Modo could feel Throttle pressing into the link. It was a habit these alphas types had. Not satisfied with simply stating one's intentions, they often felt the need to mentally corner those under their command and force compliance.

Defensively, he crossed his arms.

“You don't have to tell me that.”

Throttle nodded and backed off.

“...and don't spill it on your way back home!” Charley sent Vinnie off with several gallon-sized Ziploc bags of food.

Vinnie gave a nervous grin before backing into the garage. “Later babe! Don't miss me too much!” he shouted as he stowed the leftovers in his saddlebags. Throttle followed him out.  

Modo stood, slowly, locking eyes her.

“I...”

_I love you._

“I will protect you, always.”

Why was it so hard to say? It wasn't as if he hadn't said it already. But as he attempted to vocalize it, some unknown emotion materialized in his chest, gumming up his ability to speak plainly.

He ignored it, leaning into her oddly shaped ear and giving into his more base desires.

“Can I stay?” he whispered. “Please, Charley...”

She stepped backward, out of his reach. The immediate sense of loss hit him hard. Her face was difficult to read, but one thing it was _not_ was inviting. He would not convince her of anything today.

“Tomorrow.” She spoke firmly.

Modo could only agree, though he hated doing it. Following his bros, he sped off into the cool Chicago evening.

\- - - - -

He couldn't sleep that night.

They had long discarded those horrible child sized bunk-beds for a couple of more manageable full-sized mattresses. However, Vinnie insisted on keeping the ridiculous hammock. Modo tossed and turned all night. He remembered, with shocking clarity, the feel of her around him and how utterly different she was to a Mouse.

He made a weak attempt at giving himself a few silent tugs to relieve the pressure, finding it more disappointing than anything else. His own hand couldn't begin to replicate what she felt like.

Eventually, he threw off the covers and sat up with a sigh. He plopped down on the couch, flipping through the channels for a few minutes, before giving up on the late-night infomercials and reruns. He picked up his helmet from the rack on the wall, and climbed down from the board to his bike.

“Hey girl.” He ran his hand over her seat. “Feel like going out for a ride?”

The engine revved in response as he straddled the bike.

Modo let her lead him around Chicago. She knew when his mind was focused in other areas and he was content with that. He took in deep breath after deep breath. The heavier atmosphere of Earth was startling after being back on Mars, even if it was only for a few days. But Mars was his home. It would always be easiest to re-acclimate to the world of his birth.

A notification popped up on his helmet's HUD, accompanied by the phonetic symbols that roughly translated into Charley's name.

Their helmets were capable of accessing Earth's computer network easily enough, and after trying out several Human-designed systems for audio communication they had settled on something called Talkatone. The program was sometimes a bit glitchy on Charley's end, but for Martian technology caused the least amount of bugs from any they had sampled.

“It's pretty late to be up, dontcha think, Charley-ma'am?” He winced at his own words. What a lame attempt at flirting.

“Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know.”

He thought she sounded exhausted. And...there was just a hint of something else. A subtle waver in her voice. He almost thought it resembled fear. But that couldn't be true. Aside from the first night they met, Charley was never afraid him or his bros. He dismissed the thought. Clearly he imagined whatever it was he thought he heard from her.

“Could you come over?”

 _Hell yes!_ “Sure.” He tried not to sound too eager. “Is everything alright?”

“Um...yeah. Everything's fine. Just...come over, okay?”

“I'll be right there. See you soon, Charley-ma'am.”

Modo slammed the button on the side of his helmet to end the conversation so hard it was possible he heard something crack. But in all honesty, he would never have noticed if that was the case. She had invited him over! He hoped the implications of her invitation were what he thought. His girl was asking him over and now he was going to obey.

The next twenty minutes were a blur. He tore through the city with a recklessness that would make Vinnie jealous. Speeding through yellow lights and narrowly missing the curb on his wide turns, he answered his girl's call as quickly as possible.

As he approached her home, Modo saw that the garage door was open and Charley was leaning against a work bench. He could not see her face at first. At least, not very well. Mice, though blessed with excellent senses of hearing and smell, were not gifted with sharp vision. And he was even worse off having lost one eye. Thus, nights like this one where Hoss held more control of their destination than he did, had come to be fairly common between them. She gave two short beeps. A standard warning, when she saw what he did not. They pulled into the garage and he understood why.

Charley did not, at all, appear enthused to see him.

“We need to talk.”

She spoke with a demanding edge. Modo winced and meekly followed her lead.

“...okay.”

She led him inside, where they sat at the table in the kitchen. Her hands were folded in front of her, resting on the table. Emerald eyes were lowered, and he could visibly see the tension in her freckled arms.

“When we were together,” she started, her voice flooded with resignation. “...you mind-walked with me. More than once.”

Was that was this was about? He could understand that. It was a topic he meant to bring up anyway.

“Yeah, about that..”

“You affected me. Strongly.”

What? Of course he affected her. That's what mind-walking did. Was she not aware of this? An ember of regret ignited in his chest as he was yet again reminded of how little she knew of Martian telepathy etiquette.

“Was that on purpose?” She eyed him with an uncommon intensity. Institutionally he shrunk back, unclear why he was being scrutinized in this way. “You do know you affected me, right?”

What was she getting at? What likely strange ideas had his human concocted up to fill in her gaps of knowledge?

“I...what? What do you mean, exactly.”

 _“What I mean Modo_ , is that I don't think I would have slept with you if you hadn't done that.”

Modo could not have been more confused. Of course that was the case. Was that not obvious? Saying it aloud made about as much sense as confirming the Earth sky was blue or that Martian sand was red. Besides, it was not as if he had the ability to cause her to feel something she was not already inclined to. Charley could had easily forced him out of her mind. Mind-walking does not happen without consent. It was physically and telepathically impossible. How could she not know this.?

Oh. Wait. He had forgotten an incredibly important point. Humans do not speak to each other directly with their emotions. They display them physically or verbally, but not through any kind of mind-link that could make everyone intentions infallibly clear. He had been communicating with her that way, back on that ship, but she was unaware. She had to idea what he was trying do. Her...telepathic muscles had no integrity. They were weak, having hardly been deliberately used before. When he mind-walked with her, his intention was to create a conversation, but the truth was she simply did not now how to use her voice.

Suddenly Throttle's words from that evening made so much more sense. If They were going to be with her, there were something that they _needed_ to teach her, or there would only be more problems like this.

There was a part, deep within him, that longed for any kind of mental connection between them. Maybe not Throttle's Protection link, but some other variety. Something that allowed for two-way communication. A more modern expectation, preferred for those who wanted emotional transfer with their bedmates. A protection-link gave one party an idea of the others well being, but not much else. Maybe of they had established such a connection before, this kind of miscommunication would have never occurred.

On the other hand, it would have been far too soon to start up something like that. He was certain she would have said no. He needed to be fair to her. This line of thought did not fit that ideal. She was clearly not ready for anything remotely in that region yet.

“There is a bit of truth to that,” he cautiously admitted.

She slapped the table with her hand, startling him and reminding him a bit of when Throttle occasionally did the same with his tail, striking the ground in anger.

“ _I knew it,_ ” she accused. “I know myself enough to know what would and would not affect me.” Charley pointed a cruel finger in his face. “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Wha...how...” he fumbled around for words, grasping her meaning. “What exactly are you saying? Do you really think that I would...would...” He couldn't say it. It was too horrible to contemplate. Mice did not do _that_. Not ever. Even Sand Raiders, with their manipulative ways, would not stoop so low as to telepathically coerce sex from a woman. If they had any telepathy, that is.

Mice were a diverse race who spoke many languages, used multiple scripts, had clothing styles just as varied as Earth's, but if there was one unifying feature of Martian Cave Mice society, it was the unspoken presumption that to be a mother was a sacred undertaking. From that core idea that came the reasoning that the act which caused motherhood was, in itself, deserving of the highest respect. Sex, anyone would admit, was fantastic. But it was also viewed with veneration. To create a new life was to mimic the Goddess, who brought life to all of Mars. His fathers, who were natives of the flat Western Plains, once told him that in they language they grew up speaking the word for 'sex' and the word for 'sacred' were the same.

He did not know what he looked like in that moment, but if his face displayed even a fraction of the disgust he felt then surely she would know just how wrong she was!

Luckily, she seemed to. He watched her eyes slowly soften. With her elbows on the table she hung her head in her hands. “I just don't know what's normal here. I don't know if that's something your people do and what the boundaries on that are...”

“ _No!_ Charley, it's not what you think. Not at all.” His hands were flat on the table as he leaned forward. “There's always a little bit of blending when you link up with someone. That's part of the process.” He leaned back, dejected. “I didn't realize...” He closed his eye. “I'm seeing now that there's still so much I don't understand about you, and maybe even more that you don't understand about us. And it's really _really_ to forget that Humans don't talk to each other the way Mice do.” He opened his eye, reaching out to hold her cheek. “You use words and your faces, but then cut yourselves off from what everyone around you is feeling. I wouldn't know how to live that way.” His hand dropped away, disappearing under the edge of the table. “If I thought, even for a second, that you didn't want me, I would have stopped. And if you don't trust me now, I'll stop.” Modo stood. He felt dizzy. “I never meant to take something that wasn't freely offered, Charley-ma'am. I like to think I'm a decent empath...” He let out a long breath. “But somewhere along the way I wasn't paying enough attention to what you wanted. If you think I'm untrustworthy, I won't bother you no more.”

Modo watched her open and close her mouth several times, clearly wanting to speak but holding it in. Her face contorted into remorseful crinkles. She fidgeted apprehensively, reminding him of a child expecting to be punished..

He didn't know what else to say. Lost between his shock and a burning need to prove his honor, he turned to leave.

“No, Modo. Wait.”

He froze, unsure of why she would want him to stay.

I just...don't go yet,” Charley's voice hitched. “I don't think you're untrustworthy. But at the same time...” Her words became hushed. “I'm starting to wonder if I can even do this. It all might too much for me.”

He looked back at her over his shoulder. Charley's glistening eyes, were crowded with fear.

She bent her head down, covering her face with her hands. “Look, I get it. Okay? I already said I was in. I already told you all I could do this. Maybe I'm just more of a flake than any of us realized.”

Her cynical tone cut into him. Modo did his best to ignore that. He approached her, kneeling on her cold kitchen tile, and gently tugging at her wrists. They came down with no resistance.

“Charley-ma'am, talk to me. Ain't no judgment here. What's got you so worked up?”

She wouldn't look at him. Her eyes darted every direction in that room but his.

“It's alright Charley-ma'am.” He couldn't help himself. He reached out to touch her face, his thumb stroking her cheekbone. “I know I gotta admit I moved a bit fast that day. It wasn't right of me. But knowing that you knew, and that you weren't scared or upset about it all...It got real hard to think straight and maybe I didn't act much like a grown up.”

“Does that...does it bleed over between you guys? What you all feel and your inability to hold back?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Then maybe we shouldn't mind-walk anymore.”

He suppressed an urge to tense up, knowing she was only expressing her needs. There was nothing unfair about that. Still, it stung a bit to have his only available option to mentally connect with with her taken away.

 _At least for a while_ , he told himself. _It's better this way._

“But...that doesn't mean...” She wrapped her tiny fingers around his wrist and pulled his hand down. “It doesn't change what already happened. Look, I don't know what this means, but...since that day, I can't stop thinking about you. Everything I do reminds me of you. Modo, I dream about you every night. Painfully realistic dreams.” She clutched at her own arms and shivered. “I've never had an experience like this before. I might be panicking a little.” She spoke apologetically.

A thrilling joy lodged in his chest, to know that his presence had lingered inside her mind for so long afterward. That did not normally happen after connecting with another so few times. It was encouraging to him to know that they had synced up so easily. But she would not see it that way, he knew. And, between this and what she had with Throttle...they had to learn to be cautious with the mental state of their Human. This only proved she had absolutely no barriers at all!

“I didn't know what was happening, or what it meant. But it scared me. All I knew was that I can't stop... _wanting you_. I still want you. A minute ago when I was confused and angry, I wanted you. It's all so overwhelming and I don't know what to do about it. I don't even know if I can trust myself not to do anything stupid.”

Overtaken by an urge that felt all to similar to Vinnie's impulsiveness, he stood up and took her into his arms. The kiss that followed was a timid, questioning affair.

“Trust me.” He spoke, hushed and rushed, begging her acceptance. “I swear I will never let you down.” He nuzzled her neck, taking in her soft scent. “I will always take care of you.”

He felt her sob and tense up in his arms.

“But this can't be right...how _obsessed_ I am with you. Is this...something that happens normally?”

Modo gently rubbed circles into her back. “Sometimes. Though not usually so quickly most of the time.”

“What does it mean, that it happened like this to me?”

He gave a halfhearted shrug. “You're sensitive is all. So We got to be extra care careful.”

“It wasn't like this with Vinnie.”

“Don't worry about that, Charley. We're all still finding our flow.” He smoothed a few rebellious strands of hair back from her face as she looked up at him.

“But...this isn't anything bad, right? What's going on with me, it's not something I have to be concerned over?

“Nah, you're alright. You...” A sudden wave of shyness overtook him. “...you trust me, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“...let me stay?”

A rapid progression of emotions colored her face. He watched and waited, his breath caught in his throat.

“...okay.” she finally answered, and he wasted no time in getting to work.

Embracing her firmly, he lowered his mouth to her collarbone. He cautiously nipped and licked at her fragile skin as his left hand traveled down her spine. She responded to none of it. With his hand now resting on the swell of her hip, Modo could feel the tension in her muscles. He nuzzled under her chin. The skin there had a particularly strong scent. He inhaled deeply. The left hand moved lower, while the right threaded through the hair at the base of her neck. He felt that muscle strain here too, both in her neck and at her buttocks. The slightly hardened tissue rippled under her skin.

This wasn't working. He pulled back, holding her at arms-length. “Charley...you don't really want me here, do you?”

He watched her jaw clench and her eyes squeeze shut.

“No, Modo...it's not that.” She took a step back, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I'm sorry. I think I need a minute.” Charley plopped back down in her chair. “You cannot possible understand how conflicting this is for me.”

_I could Charley-ma'am, if you weren't so uncomfortable opening your mind to me._

Modo shook his head to clear it of that traitorously selfish thought. He knelt down on one knee, reaching out and cupping the side of her face. “It's alright.”

Was she leaning into his hand? No, she couldn't have been. How could he make her more comfortable? He had a limited list of ideas. He may as well put them to practice.

“Charley-ma'am, I know we said no mind-walking, and I'm going to respect that. But what about something else?”

“Huh?” She raised her eyes to meet his. “What do you mean something else?”

“Mind-walking is so direct. It's what people use when they don't have some other kind of connection in place. Or if they need to say something real fast and talking will take too long.” He shut out that frantic memory of Vinnie and cleared his throat. “What I mean is...you really do trust me, right?”

She gave a singular slow nod.

“I can help you relax. I promise. You'll hardly notice anything.”

Her scrunched up forehead effectively communicated her confusion. Modo slid his hand to the back of her skull, leaning forward and resting his chin on her shoulder. With closed eyes, he pressed a kiss into her neck, and retreated into his own mind. There was no cord linking his mind to hers. He could only assume there wouldn't be for some time. But Cave Mice were gifted with other methods in such circumstances. A bit less efficient, this was true. However, it should be effective enough. The familiar tingling began to overtake his forehead and antenna.

If a Human were to ask him to explain what he was doing, he wasn't sure he would know how to word it. There was an assumption among Cave Mice the these kind of gentle intimacies were to be felt, not explained away in rational left-brained descriptions. But metaphorically one could say that he created a cloud, egg-shaped and and transparent, with which he was to inflict a calmative, soothing mental state. An intangible miasma of tranquility. Unlike mind-walking, touch was not needed. Rather, proximity was the deciding factor. Anyone within arms-length would have been affected by it.

He hadn't done this in years, not since Rimfire and Primer were young children, begging to sleep next to him after a nightmare during his occasional visits home. Modo eased back into it as if no time had passed, although he had forgotten how strongly he could affect himself as well.

Less than a minute, and it was done. He leaned back to see her pupils dilated and lips parted.

“I feel like I just took a Valium.” She shook her head. “What exactly was that?”

“Just wanted to help you relax.”

“Well, thanks. That felt so good.” She smiled at him. “And thanks for not holding anything against me, for what I thought earlier.”

“I just want you to be okay.”

She smiled. Humans had odd puffy lips. It was not unattractive, and they even felt quite nice once you got used to them, as he had found out several times before. But when they pressed against his incisors, soft and fleshy, he just about lost his self-control. He traced the sides of her torso with his fingers, stopping at her hips.

“Does this mean...” He struggled to speak. “...are you..”

“I think I'm tired of wanting you and not doing anything about it.” Her arms circled his neck. “I want to know what this is supposed to feel like. Make love to me, Modo.”

He wondered if it was even a good idea to continue after her strong hesitation. But she was insistent, and really, how could he deny his girl anything? He lifted her up against him by her bottom. She took the opportunity to wrap her legs around his waist.

He would give her what she asked for.

She gasped as he ground against her while he climbed the stairs . Kicking the bedroom door open with his heavy boot, he gently placed her on the bed, kneeling between her legs. Charley ran her hands over the latches on his chest plate.

“What's all this even for?”

“Huh?”

At first he wasn't sure she meant. But as he followed her gaze to his sternum, it occurred to him just how strange it must appear to see such an ill-placed hunk of software attached to his chest.

“It's uh...like a computer. For my arm.” He glanced down at his prosthetic. “Karbuncle never had a chanced to finish it, so it doesn't always work right. Some friends cooked this up for me. It connects wirelessly to my arm to give it more processing power, faster reaction time, all that good stuff.”

“But...” She unlatched the strap at his side. “You don't always need it.”

“No,” he confirmed. “I just keep it on 'cause you never know what you might run into. Gotta be able to watch my bros' backs.”

Her hands slid to his other side, unfastening the leather strap. “No one's back here to watch.”

Together they lifted the contraption over his head, where Modo took the weight of it, dropping it to the floor.

His palms found themselves under her shirt, traveling up her back. With his flesh hand he savored the delicate peach fuzz he found there.

For what must have been the thousandth time he wished more than anything that his mechanical arm was more capable sensory input. He could discern a general idea of density and certain extremes of texture, but hardly more than that. She squirmed beneath his touch. Modo concentrated on the feel her ribs and the soft flesh surrounding them. It was the extent of his arm's capabilities.

Charley extended her arms upward and he took the hint, lifting her shirt over her head. She had nothing on underneath it. Had he not already been on his knees, the sight of her would have brought him to them. She was allowing him what no woman had, a second night together. Modo was a classical Goddess fearing Mouse, just as much as anyone could have been. However, he normally left the more religious displays of gratitude to Vinnie, who more closely walked that path of piety to begin with. And so, half out of habit and half from a genuine desire to so he whispered in the Western Plains dialect the ancient prayer all young Mouse boys are taught and expected to both utter and honor.

 _Great Goddess,_  
_You have blessed me with the presence of your vessel_  
_I give thanks for this sacred gift_  
_May life bloom and thrive in your daughter's womb_  
_Ever shall I act as their guardian and protector_  
_Ever shall I give gratitude for your gifts of new life_

He remembered what she said the last time, and tried to be what she needed. Modo exerted only the slightest pressure on her shoulders before she leaned back and scooted up the bed.

“What are you saying?” Her broad smile crept into her eyes.

“Thank you,” he breathed. “...I'm saying thank you.” Modo kissed the skin between her breasts, peppering his way down to her belly. He felt her hand run deliciously over his ear, causing it to twitch.

She giggled. “I think I might be in love with your ears.” She repeated the action and he shuttered powerfully.

“You have no idea that feels like, Charley.”

“Is it anything like this?”

She traced a feathery finger up an antenna. Modo gasped, gripping the comforter in his large hands for support.

“I...am going to lose control...if you keep doing that.”

“Maybe I want you to lose control.”

He strongly suspected she had no idea what that entailed. “Just...wait a minute.”

Charley drew her hands back. Modo breathed long deep inhales. He looked up into her eyes, and couldn't help but be drawn to her smirking lips. The kiss he gave was a ragged uncoordinated mess. She returned it just the same and he fell in love with her just a little bit more.

The last time he was inside her mind there had been an image, unlabeled and purely subconscious on her part, of a man. It was no one in particular, just a perception. Possibly it was her idea of the kind of guy she wanted to end up with. He a was powerful, demigod of a man. Defending his woman from any challenges she might face, and yet when they were alone together he was as sensitive as they came. He would cook for her, take care of the kids for her. Fix the house for her. Everything that needed to be done he would take care of. This was a man who followed his lover around and catered to her with no care for his own needs. It was an archetype he was familiar with, since no matter how unrealistic it was, of course, the same category of person had often appeared in all the old myths and stories. In his experience, nearly everyone indulged in a fantasy similar to this. It wouldn't hurt, he thought, if he drew from this image for a few minutes.

He retreated into his own mind, projecting outward as he did before. There was no reaching into her. He kept his promise of separation. Instead Modo latched onto his memory of that image. He kept his projection paper thin. Had she the slightest inclination to see him in any other way, there would be no effect.

Charley pulled away from him, taking deep calming breaths. She peered up at him, eyes widening.

“Modo...” Her hands, starting at his temples, stroked downwards until they reached his chest. “You...are...perfect.” Her lips met his snout for a brief moment. “Do you have any idea how perfect you are for me?”

The projection ceased. He felt momentarily lightheaded as he eased back into his typical mental state.

They continued to undress each other with anxious gentleness, catering to and caring for one another's needs in the process. She touched him eagerly, stimulating him to full stiffness. He did for her the same, entering her with his tongue at pace far more relaxed than their last encounter. And when she finally embraced him into herself, with him in a half reclined position on his back and she kneeling above his hips, he gasped at the relief that her enshrined warmth provided.

He knew what this was. It was the purely male experience of knowing that he was wanted. A woman desired him enough to call him back a second time. She had expressed a desire to keep calling him back for the foreseeable future. And if there were children to result from his clan, he would keep the vow that he had once made to his own fathers. His children would always be safe.

There was no way of knowing how much time had passed. He thrust up into her at her bidding, lapping at her breasts, running his tail up and down her legs. He knew only that when she palmed his fur on his chest, grunting his name, the scent in the air had changed and suddenly her torso was just a bit more limp than a moment ago. With a firm grip on her hips, he let go of his carefully crafted control. All of the rules his distant society placed on him to be the obedient husband melted away in a frenzied moment of abandon.

He released himself into her, clutching her fragile fur-less body to his chest. Slipping into his native tongue, he spilled forth the Goddess' prayer yet again. This time he added more epithets of gratitude and promise. He was determined to be all that she could ever need.

When her breathing slowed, she pushed up from his chest and looked into his face.

“That...was amazing.” she smiled. “You're amazing.” She pressed her lips to his jaw and snuggled into his side. “I don't ever want to move from this bed.”

He held back his laughter, knowing she wasn't serious. And yet it fueled his pride to know she would speak these kinds of appreciative words to him.

“Please stay?” she murmured when he made to stand. “I know it's not your people's way, but...it's be nice to wake up with you.”

Gods, could he? She had no idea how difficult this was for him. He felt his mouth go dry, and his finders and toes clench. Maybe, for her sake, he could try. Suppressing his own desires would most definitely be a challenge. But when she looked at him with with those insistent green eyes, how could he say no?

“...I...I mean...”

“What is it?” She sat up immediately, all trace of her former euphoria gone. Her shoulders slumped.“Is asking you for that really so difficult?” Charley rested a hand on his leg. “You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought...”

“I'll stay, he reassured thoughtlessly. Could he resist the temptation? “It's just...you _really_ don't know what you do to me.”

“Oh,” she smiled. You're not done yet.”

He looked away. “It's not supposed to be like this. It's supposed to be...you know... _gentle_.”

She let out a childish giggle. “Well, gentle is nice and all, but it can be kind of boring. You want to be on top this time? I kind of like it when you're in control.”

He tensed up at her confession. Charley noticed and her smile slowly evaporated.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

He didn't answer.

“Look, it's just about the position. You know, the angle.” She ran her hand hand down his flesh shoulder. “I'm not trying to screw with your sense of gender roles.”

“I know. But can we just...” He pushed past the part of himself that demanded the distance, and tried to settle in the comforting knowledge that he was in a _relationship_ now. It was time to ease into the closeness that came with it. “Can I just hold you?”

He watched her watching him, narrowing her eyes, trying to understand him. Was she confused as to why he held back from sex? Or were his motivations and his people's customs becoming clear to her? The truth primarily was that he didn't want to start something when he wasn't sure if he could stop. And then he would want a mental connection with her. Anything really. He wouldn't care what kind. But Charley had already made her feelings on that clear, and he wasn't about to push his girl past her comfort zone.

“I just want to be close to you right now. Okay?”

“...okay.” She nodded.

They wrapped their limbs around each other, soaking up each other's warmth, grasping for a cure for that small sliver of awkwardness that crept its way into their evening. It passed eventually, and they both slipped into sleep.

He awoke early the next morning, jostling her awake when he left the bed. She slumped her arms over his shoulders, pulling him in for a solid kiss before he left.

“I'm going to make you stay eventually,” she mumbled, still half-asleep.

This time, he managed to sneak in the scoreboard rather quietly, slinking back into his bed with both of his bros still completely out.

\---

Vinnie's face spread into a half-formed smirk, staring at him while he crunched into a piece of toast.

“So...” he started innocuously. “What was with all the good vibes from last night?”

“Don't know what you're talking about,” Modo replied.

“Hey, don't give me that BS. You were happy about something, bro.”

Modo shifted his weight and avoided eye-contact.

Vinnie sniggered. “You and Charley got yourselves some sexy times, huh?”

“Why you always got to say it like that, man?”

“Well, how would you say it?”

Modo stared off dreamily, picturing her last night when, in her kitchen, she all but jumped into his lap. “I was with my girl.”

“...that's it?”

“Ain't nothing else needs to be said.”

“Man, that's boring. Why not spice it up a little?”

From the window sill, Throttle chuckled.

“You want to join in on this conversation?” Vinnie called out.

Throttle held up his hands in surrender. “Nope.”

“You sure? Cause we got an open seat right here for whenever you wanna throw your two cents in.”

Throttle scoffed.

“Come on, man,” Vinnie taunted. “What would you call it?”

“Not even something I'm willing to talk about.”

“Hey, now.” Vinnie directed his index finger at Throttle. “We're all in this, bro. Really, what so you think?”

Throttle pointed his face out the window. “Not here to take sides.”

“That's a cop out and you know it.”

Throttle's eyes, barely noticeable behind the green lenses, drifted back to where the other two mice sat. “Alright. Truth is I'm in Modo's field. Keep it simple.”

Modo elbowed the white Mouse good-naturedly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Vinnie ceded the argument. “I'm probably gonna hear something about being more respectful to Charley-girl now.”

“Yes, you are. That part ain't no joke.” Throttle's stern voice left no room for argument.

“Hey, I don't got no problem about respecting our girl. I'll respect her all day.”

“Cool. That's whatever, Mouse. So _long_ as what you're doing actually looks like respect.”

Vinnie's lopsided grin was all the reply they would get.

 

-

Their young family tested out what would become their routine. They all thought it best to give Charley some room for a day or two. And afterward, Modo watched as Vinnie crowded her space with his cocky attitude and self-assured grins. He nearly laughed out loud when she threatened to punch Vinnie in face if he did not tone it down.

By the end of that evening, their brother had adopted a _slightly_ more meek disposition, and they were comfortable enough to leave him with her alone for a few hours.

Two days later, Throttle did the same. Modo was content to distance himself from both his Liiashlaus' minds. During this delicate beginning, he would find a way to keep his own head on straight. There would be plenty of time for sharing the effect of the woman in their lives later.

When the cycle returned to him, Modo began the day giddy with fear and excitement. But it progressed, joyfully, and the evening instead calmly fulfilled all the wishes he had. Charley accepted the Martian way. Following her lead was so natural. Long after she had closed up the shop and the sun had set, they laid together peaceably in her bed. It was a bit small for his liking, but they found a way to make do. She tried to wriggle closer to him. Modo attempted to still her by giving a gentle squeeze on her shoulder with his over-sized hand.

“Your hands are so warm!” Charley pulled his wrist to her cheek. “How come you guys never feel cold?”

He shrugged, half remembering the time his sister told him about their cold-adapted hemoglobin. “Not sure, really. Something about how my blood holds oxygen. I don't much remember the details.”

“I'd like to ask her, if I ever meet her. You'd think I get a chance?”

“Of course, Charley-ma'am. I think she'd like you.”

Charley grinned, but did not reply. She was quiet for so long he began to think she was asleep. In the silence of the room he could hear the faint rustle of the wind outside, and the subtle thumping of her heartbeat.

“Modo?”

He felt his ears twitch at the sound of her voice.

“I think...I need to ask you something,” she continued, sitting up and facing him. “Last week, when we were together...did you do something to me?”

He wasn't sure what she meant, and the confusion must have shown on his face, because she continued without waiting for him to reply.

“I couldn't really tell in the moment, but afterwards, it was just like last time. Like I could feel my emotions being pulled toward you. I don't know if I could have stopped it, because the truth is I didn't even try.”

So that's what she meant. Modo had taken her fantasy and applied to himself, leaving her to unable to turn away. It was his childish attempt to be pleasing to her. He hoped he hadn't gong too far.

“I have to admit, my first instinct was to get angry with you again. But on the other hand, I need to recognize that none of this is going to work if I don't start realizing that this is how Martians fall in love, isn't it?”

“Was...” His mouth went dry. “Was it too much?”

She watched him, eyes narrowed in calculation, before a slow and small grin tugged at her lips.

“No,” she concluded. “I think I'm beginning to understand.”

Charley nestled back into the crook of his neck, while Modo breathed a sigh of relief. This was the kind of honesty that they needed to have with each other. It bred both respect and trust. He took a moment to gather his courage before fearfully asking her the question that had plagued him.

“Do you want to have kids?” His voice shook. “Not right this second, I mean. But eventually.”

She looked up at him, an eyebrow arched. “Modo...don't you think it's kind of early in on this thing to talk about kids?”

“...I'm sorry. I just...I always thought I would, you know? I never even thought about anyone elses feelings. It was always an assumption I just lived with, that I would be a dad. But I want to know how you feel.”

Charley's expression softened. “Maybe. But not quite yet, okay? Anyway, how do we even know we can?”

He tried not to cringe at the thought. “My sister would. That's what she does. Helps people have kids, I mean.”

Charley paused, her eyes unfocused.

“I'm not really sure if I do want that, to be honest. It was never in my plans. For me, it was always just keep the garage going, pay the bills. Everything I know my dad taught me. He took great care of me growing up, but I never had any great examples of a mom. I'm not even sure I know what that looks like.” She sighed. “It's not that I don't want kids. It's just that I never thought about having them. I don't know, okay? I'm not even ready to think about that yet. I'm still getting used to this.” She ran a hand up his arm, against the grain. He shivered. “I'd be willing to talk about it again a little while down the line...but not yet. It's still a bit much for me.”

He could live with that answer. It wasn't what he was hoping for, but it was reasonable. Modo decided he would do best to distract himself, and her, from the seriousness of the conversation. And, to be honest, from her tempting curves.

He stood, scooping up his pants from the floor. “Come on.” He held out his hand to her. “It's a warm night tonight.”

“What?” She laughed. “First of all, no it isn't. Maybe for you and all your fur, but for the pelt-challenged like myself, it's a bit less than warm. And second, now? Why do you want to go outside now?”

“Just on the roof. You know, to look at the stars.”

Charley exhaled loudly. Sharking her head with a wry smile, she took his hand.

“Just...let me get a sweatshirt or something.”

She pulled one from her closet and followed him out. As they situated themselves, Charley sat between his legs and he pulled her her back to his chest, keeping her warm in his arms.

They sat together under the stars in silence for nearly ten minutes before he heard her speak.

“Can I ask you a question? It's kind of personal, I think. But I'm just not really sure what's going on.”

“Does that mean it's about sex?”

“Am I that obvious?”

He chuckled. “It's alright Charley. Ask me anything.”

“Okay. It's just that...” She trailed off. “...so, what is it exactly?” She gave a subtle smirk. “Is being on top not your preference?”

He threw her a sideways glance, matching her humor. “Is that what you think of me? 'Cause I can guarantee you, I'm all man. And eventually I'm gonna show you.”

She giggled and snuggled closer. He felt a warmth spread through his torso. Modo bent his neck, nuzzling the top of her head.

“In all seriousness though, it ain't like that. It's just...I don't want to take too much. Not in the beginning. It's not proper, Charley-ma'am. We gotta be...gentle. Taking control like that is not something that happens early on. It's a trust thing. People gotta be ready for it before it starts.”

She was silent for a long time after that. He watched her narrow her eyes in thought.

“Wow...of all the things.” Charley shook her head. “But, really? I should have expected it.” She grinned lightly. “General sex etiquette is, _of course_ , bound to be a huge cultural difference.” Charley hugged his arm, resting her head on his bicep. A small flame lit in his belly as he was in fact overwhelmed by the sheer deluge of arousal that he felt for her.

“Charley-ma'am?” He shouldn't say anything. Not yet. It was too early and she still knew so little of what they wanted from her. But he was weak. Weak with desire and impatience. With greed and love. He couldn't hold himself back anymore. “What Throttle did...with you, I mean...”

“What?” She lifted her head up to look at him. “What do you mean? We didn't do anything yet.”

“No, I mean what _he_ did. Not anything you did together. The link. The one he doesn't turn off.”

“...oh. That.” He felt her grip on his arm increase. “I'm still not sure what to think about that. Does it happen often on Mars?”

“Well...recently it has.” He spoke truthfully to her. “What I'm trying to say...” He bit his lower lip with his incisors. “We could do that too, if you were okay with it.”

He felt her stop breathing and instantly regretted asking for such intimacy.

“...Modo...I...”

“Never mind.” he soothed. “Forget I said anything.” He pulled her into his lap and rested his head on her brown hair, taking in her sweet scent. He should have known better. This was the way women were. He remembered what his sister had once told him so long ago.

_“Sometimes girls just need a distraction. We all have hard lives right now, but it is actually terrifying being part of a group that is deliberately being targeted.” She stopped, taking in a shuddering breath. “It's easier to feel something physical, than deal with the emotional. That's what they want from you. I know it's hard not to take it personally. But believe me when I say that they don't want anything long-term when they come to you and say 'I'm lonely'.”_

_He tried to hear his sister's words. He tried to not be resentful of the one-night-stands he kept falling for. There was something deeply unfair to the whole situation. He couldn't quite describe what it was._

_“Have you ever done that?” He knew he was intruding by asking her that, but he couldn't help himself. Trace already had three husbands, but how normal was this thing that women did?_

_She averted her eyes and he had his answer._

_“I don't think anyone is perfect. We are all doing our best, and we live in the worst possible time.” She reached out to hold his hand. Her soft voice offered explanation. “You men often say we don't make any sense. That we are heartless, hurtful, and only want to take and be taken care of. But none of that is the case. Not really. We are powerfully emotional creatures. I know you can feel that. You men, you either do something or you don't do it. There is no in between. But that's just not how most women work. Our experience of life happens in waves. We see connections in everything. And sometimes...we have to come to an idea slowly. It needs to feel right. When we have time to take in all of the factors, all of the variables, and see where it might lead...well, let me put it this way. What feels right today may not be what feels right tomorrow. You have to give women the space to come to their own conclusions.” She smiled at him. “Even if the answer is one you've already figured out, a woman will look at the same situation as you, but she will consider it from every possible angle. And that takes time. You have to be patient.”_

Every possible angle. What kind of processing power did a female mind have? He kissed Charley's temple and tried to take his sister's advice.

“Don't worry about it.” He rubbed her upper arms to warm her, feeling some of the tension leave her frame. “I shouldn't have asked.”

She looked at him sideways, but didn't press the issue.

“What does it feel like?” she asked, changing the subject. “...being telepathically attached to someone for the rest of your life?”

The question took him off guard. He furrowed his brow and sought for an answer she would understand. “It feels...normal. When I was a kid, alone in my own thoughts, that was strange.”

Her eyes squinted in confusion. Modo repressed a frustrated sigh. How could he go about describing this, in English, no less? These people had no words for the details, just vague umbrella terms that didn't begin to express the emotional aspects.

“Try thinking of it like this,” he attempted. “When you were little, weren't there things you wanted to do, but you couldn't because you had to wait? Maybe it wasn't something that kids could do, or you just weren't able to reach it yet because it was too far away?”

Her eyes lit up. “Getting my driver's license or my first job, that kind of thing?”

“Sure. What did it feel like afterwards? Wasn't it better?”

She let out a hard scoff, looking away for a moment. “I guess. Most of time anyway. Dealing with a condescending boss, or paying car insurance when you work minimum wage wasn't always 'better'.”

“Yeah. That might be true anywhere you go. But on the whole? You were in a place that showed other people that you were a bit more grown up now. People treated you different. You treat _yourself_ different.”

She began to nod slowly. “I think I get that. There's a kind of social status that comes after you form these bonds with people. You're more grown up now.”

“Yeah, that's exactly that it's like. You're never the same again. In a clan, everyone has some kind of connection to the others. There's all different types. And when you grow up and starting choosing your own, it's a whole different playing field.”

“How so?”

He shrugged. “More responsibility, more expectation from everyone to make good choices. Because when you invite someone in it affects the whole clan. But also...” His arms tightened around her. “More freedom.”

She nodded. Modo was relieved. He wasn't always the most articulate Mouse. And this unbearable burning inside him was becoming more and more difficult to keep in check.

A thought occurred to him.

What was the benefit from continuing to do so? They had come so far in so short a time. Maybe it would be best now if he did not hold back so much anymore. Charley had already made it clear that she held no value in it. They had only needed to be open with each other.

He looked down at her.

“You want to go back inside?” he whispered.

“Yeah.” Modo felt her shiver. “Does this mean you're going to leave now? Back to the board?”

He maneuvered through the window frame first. Charley accepted his hand as she followed.

“To be honest, I wonder if it'd be better if I did.” He held her close. “But I'd rather stay. You alright with that, Charley-ma'am?”

She pulled him down in a kiss.

True to his word, he did not leave her that night. Instead, he made love to her again. She sat in his lap and used his upper arms for leverage, while he buried his his face in her shoulder, alternately kissing and nipping her collarbone. Modo argued with his hands, demanding they keep a light grip on her waist. It was not a battle easy to win.

He released into her with a deep shudder. After a moment's rest, he chose to become what she preferred, shifting his weight to tower over her. She accepted him with an angelic ease, and for one short second Modo seriously wondered if he could spend the rest of his life encased between her thighs.

He did not last as long the second time around, but by the sounds she made, he thought she seemed more than satisfied. This time when it was over he allowed himself a bit more time to recover, pulling her limp form into his lap, frantically pumping up into her. With her arms around his neck, she was mostly still, continuing that odd submissive role he didn't quite understand.

He released before she was brought to completion. Laying her down on her back, he nibbled her breasts until he felt himself harden again. Modo rolled over, pulling Charley up so that she straddled him, and ground into her core.

“Again?” She spoke with a bit of wonder in her voice.

He smirked. “I'm just getting started.”

And so he continued, breaking any expectations she could have had. Exhausting her to the very brink. He held his own tiny piece of the Goddess in his arms. Even though he was barred from opening his mind to her, he knew this was the apogee that he had been chasing. Simply to be here and hold no part of himself back. That was his fairy tail ending. Against all the odds, somehow the gods had allowed it.

Charley collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily.

 

“There's no way that is normal.” She gasped. “I didn't even know any guy was biologically capable of going for so long.”

“Is it too much?” He ignored his back-minded burst of fear.

“It's just...I don't if I can do that every night! I don't think I'm built for that much stimulation.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “No one expects you too. Of course you'd have a night or two to yourself after. I thought all woman needed that after sex.”

She looked at him blankly.

“Humans don't do that?”

“Not as a general rule.” She pushed herself up on her elbows. “But after a night like this I'm going to start needing that if this is what I have to look to forward to!” Her eyes drifted shut as she snuggled closer to him. “You're not going to leave, right?”

“No.” he reassured her. “I'm staying right here.”

Modo tucked her into his side, his protruding face resting on her shoulder. More contented than he'd ever been in his life, he drifted to sleep.

\---

She woke up before him. He felt her short nails digging into his fur, being worked into the skin of his arm and tracing patterns.

His breathing changed, and she met his eyes.

“...morning.”

He rumbled deep in his chest as a reply.

“I'm so sore I can barely move.” A euphoric grin dusted her face. “And yet I think I still want you. How crazy is that?”

In truth, he was completely spent, and wouldn't be ready again any time today. Maybe he could be later that night. Maybe. Though it was likely to be closer to several days at least, as was typical amongst male Cave Mice. However, if his woman desired him, he could make it work. He rolled onto his side, lowering his head to her neck. Charley squirmed under his nibbling teeth, arching her back and baring to him yet more enticing skin.

“Slow, okay? After last night...”

He understood her meaning. Licking his way downwards, Modo lifted her leg over his shoulder. He stopped at her navel, taking in a deep breath. The scent of both of them mixed together overwhelmed him with feelings of contentment. He felt like he was drowning in her. This was, as far as he could tell, the apparent manifestation of a life he'd wanted since he was old enough to think for himself. He knew in that moment that whatever happened with them and Charley from here on out, he would gratefully accept her choices.

No, not accept. He would support her. He would care for her. He would remember that she was the gift the Goddess granted him. She was who he had begged and prayed for. To only accept would never be enough.

Modo made it a point to be quite gentle. He palmed her hips, while she held tight to his wrists. Charley moaned his name, and it took every ounce of self-control he had to not devour her completely. She had requested soft. And slow. It was his obligation to comply.

He lost himself in her scent. Her warmth. Her gasping breaths. Eventually he felt her cool hands on his face, tugging at him to look up.

“I...I can't...”

Modo nuzzled at her inner leg. “That enough for you, Charley-ma'am?

“...more than enough!”

He burned with satisfaction.

“Come back up here. I want to cuddle.”

Modo gladly obeyed. With one arm wrapped around his woman, he allowed himself to drift off again. She gently nudged him awake sometime later.

“They're going to be here soon.” Her thin finger nails ran though the fur of his chest.

“Hm. Let them come.” He would have been happy to spend the rest of the day in bed with her.

“You say that now, but as soon as Vinnie rides up, shouting to anyone who will listen how hungry his, you'll wish we got up sooner to make him breakfast.”

“Hmm,” he rumbled, knowing she was right. Reluctantly he peeled himself from her bed, and followed her downstairs.

“Pancakes all right with you?”

He nodded. Admittedly, even now after living on Earth for years, most Earth food was still either a novelty or a luxury. Grain was especially so, given that there hadn't been a large scale functioning farming industry on Mars since he was a child.

“Come on, then.” She tugged at his flesh arm. “You make the coffee, while I get this done.”

He happily complied.

Charley was halfway done with her cooking and the steam was just beginning to dissipate from his coffee cup when they heard the comforting roar of two obtrusive engines. Vinnie came through the door first, opening it so hard it rattled on its hinges.

“Babe! Your studly hero is back!”

“If you break my door Vinnie, not only are you fixing it, but you're not getting any breakfast here!”

Modo watch his Liiashlau cringe at the thought of going hungry.

“Aw, babe.” He slinked up to her from behind, wrapping a gloved hand around her waist. “You wouldn't want me to starve?”

“Losing one meal's not going to kill you, Vincent.” Throttle smirked from the doorway, his helmet under his arm. “It might even teach you some discipline”.

“Hey, who's side are you on?

“I haven't decided yet.” Throttle responded, with a solidly deadpan glare.

Modo nearly choked on the coffee trying to suppress his laughter.

Vinne pretended to not hear, instead giving all his attention to Charley. Modo watched them from the other side of the kitchen. He leaned against the wall while sipping from his cup. Throttle came up alongside him. He could feel the sand colored Mouse digging into his mind. Well-meaning it may have been, and it was hardly the first time that his bro had mentally checked up on him in this way, it was still a bit ridiculous. He wasn't a child. He could handle himself. And really, at this point there wasn't much to handle anymore.

He gave Throttle a mental shove. “I'm fine, okay? Nothing's going wrong here.”

Throttle responded with a squared-off stare.

“You sure, man? I don't want you pushing yourself harder than you need to.”

Modo let the experience of the last few days wash over him. How quickly had his longing been satisfied! It left him feeling both content and emotionally raw. He glanced over at her, his eye following the gentle curves of her torso. Charley put all of her weight on her right leg, causing her left hip to jut out as she flipped the pancakes.

“Yeah, bro. Everything's good.”

Throttle followed his gaze, staring for a moment. Modo could literally feel his thought process. There was satisfaction there, and relief. It was tinged with the barest amount of impatience.

“You did good here, Modo. Don't think she would have opened up to us so easily, if it weren't for you.”

With his metal hand Modo rubbed the back of his neck. “I don't know about that...”

“Ain't nothing to be modest about, bro. It is what it is. This our family. _Our clan._ You helped create that.” Throttle moved past him, sitting down at the kitchen table just as Charley set down a plate of pancakes. Vinnie was close at her heals.

How many of his prayers had the Great Goddess answered? How many impossible scenarios had been made real? He knew there was still so much more between them that could grow. They now had promises to keep, and promises that still needed to be made. So much work to be done and layers that needed to be built up between them. Eventually Charley would let them in, and they could have the standard flow of consciousness that every healthy clan had.

But for now, Modo was satisfied.


End file.
